. "II^" 1 




3 



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THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITING SOEOMON 




THE BRINGING UP OF THE ARK 




CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE; 

THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN 17 

THE MURDER OF ABEL 24 

NOAH AND THE FLOOD . 27 

THE TOWER OF BABEL 32, 

ABRAHAM AND LOT 33 

ISAAC AND REBEKAH 44 

JACOB AND ESAU 47 

JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 67 

MOSES IN EGYPT . . . ; 82 

THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS 105 

RAHAB AND THE SPIES 143 

THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN ....'......, 146 

STORY OF THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL 151 

RUTH AND NAOMI 168 

SAMUEL AND ELI 172 

SAMUEL AND SAUL 180 

THE STORY OF DAVID 187 

KING SOLOMON 207 

THE STORY OF ELIJAH 222 

THE STORY OF ELISHA 233 

THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS 252 

THE CAPTIVITY 269' 

THE STORY OF JOB 285 

THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM . -. , 293 

JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK 305 

JESUS IN GALILEE 314 

THE STORM ON THE LAKE 321 

SAMARITAN STORIES 333 

LAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM 344 

THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION 350 

THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES 370 

5 



BEAUTIFUL 

Bible Stories 



CONTAINING 



Captivatinq Narratives 

OF THE 

MOST STRIKING SCENES AND EVENTS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT; 

LIVES OF THE PROPHETS, KINGS AND HEROES 

OF THE BIBLE, ETC. 

INCLUDING THE 

Story of Christ and His Apostles 

DESIGNED TO PROMOTE 

A GREATER INTEREST IN THE BIBLE AMONG PERSONS OF ALL 

AGES, ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG 

BY 

GRANDPA REUBEN PRESCOTT 

THE WELL-KNOWN AUTHOR 



Profusely Embellished with 5uperb Phototype 
and Wood Engravings 



NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. 

239, 241 AND 243 AMERICAN STREET 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



TWO COPIES RECKXVKD, 

Library cf Cctigret% 
Ap « Office of the 

/?0 ,pam 4 - ipnn 







RcgliUr of Copyright* 



51090 

Fntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1899, by 

J. R. JONES 

Tn the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 

All Rights Reserved 



SECOND COPY, 



1*- 



PREFACE. 



; ]3 RIGHT eyes and listening ears always greet the narration of the 
^ 1 3 beautiful stories of the Bible to the young. To all such this 
volume is especially adapted, the narrative portions of the Bible 
being faithfully reproduced in language simple and captivating. 

The work begins with the story of the Creation, tells all about 
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the ' tragic death of Abel. It: 
describes the Flood, the Ark tossed on the world of waters and Noah send- 
ing forth the dove, and soon comes to the Tower of Babel and the Confu- 
sion of Tongues. The story of Abraham is fully related, together with 
that of the sacrifice of Isaac, the ram caught in the thicket, and the saving 
of the lad who comes into the romantic story of Rebekah. It describes 
Jacob and his beautiful dream, and tells of his troubles with Esau. • 

It narrates the history of Joseph and his brethren, and traces his 
wonderful career in Egypt. His sterling integrity is seen, his sudden rise 
to power, his shining virtues as a ruler, his deliverance of the people from 
famine, his tender regard for his brethren and affection for his father. 

Was there ever a young person, or old person as to that matter, 
who was not charmed with the picture the Bible gives us of Moses in his 
little life-boat, his remarkable experience at the burning bush, his shining 
face as he comes down from stormy Sinai, and his stern reproof of Israel's 
sins and follies ? 

Then the waters of the Jordan divide, and the great leader, Joshua, 
and his host pass into the Land of Promise. In the history of the Judges 
we see Gideon and his marvellous fleece, and Jephtha making his rash vow. 
Samson slays the king of beasts, is overcome by a designing woman, grinds 
like a slave in the treadmill, carries off the gates of Gaza and shakes down, 
the massive pillars of the Philistines' temple. 

The story of young Samuel, who grew to be a prophet, recounts the 
glowing deeds of another Old Testament hero. He was a good child from 
infancy, and having started right, he became a great and good man. His 
career shows that the teachings of wise parents are remembered, and mould 
the characters of the young. Then we have the delightful history of Ruth, 
the gleaner in the fields of Boaz, who met with such good fortune and was 
rewarded for honest industry. 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

Very interesting to the young people are the Bible stories about the 
old Hebrew kings and prophets. ' They tell all about that wonderful man 
King Saul, who was so jealous of David that he threw the javelin at him 
and tried to kill him. Next we hear about the exploits of David, the ruddy 
shepherd boy, whose marvellous sling carried swift death to the boastful 
giant, Goliath. Then comes Solomon in all his glory, who built that most 
famous of all edifices, the renowned Temple at Jerusalem. 

Then, with the swiftness of the whirlwind, the Prophet Elijah appears 
The A-oung people behold one of the most striking figures in history. They 
follow this mysterious prophet to the brook Cherith, and the poor widow's 
home at Sarepta, and behold the chariot of flame which bears him through 
the open heaven beyond mortal sight. They see the sweet face of the little 
Jewish captive in Syria, who sent Naaman to the prophet Elisha that he 
might be healed of his leprosy. This wonderful part of the history of 
God's chosen people sounds fresh and new from the pages of this delight- 
ful and very instructive volume. There are also many tragic stories con- 
nected with the later kings among the Hebrews. These make a deep 
impression upon the youthful heart, and teach the most important lessons. 

The Babe of Bethlehem now appears upon the scene, and his capti- 
vating story is no less interesting than the incidents and events already 
related. We hear the angels singing ; we see the adoring shepherds ; we 
are present at the visit of the wise men ; and we step into the Temple 
where Jesus disputes with the Jewish doctors. We listen to his wonderful 
parables, behold his amazing miracles, his awe-inspiring Crucifixion and 
triumphant Ascension. The Story of the Apostles completes this most cap- 
tivating volume, the beauty and charm of which are apparent on every page. 

This is such a volume as all parents should put into the hands of 
their children. Youth is the forming period of the whole life ; it is the 
wax in the mould, and impressions then made are not easily effaced. This 
delightful work renders the Bible a new book, full of the grandest thoughts, 
the most inspiring truths, the noblest examples, and those beautiful moral 
precepts wh ; ch lie at the foundation of all success in life. 

The question how to interest the young in the Bible is solved, for 
they find such attractions in this volume that they read it eagerly. It is 
not a work to be glanced at and then thrown aside ; but it is a companion 
in the home, and is found to contain fresh charms every time it is perused. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

ADAM AND EVE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN 18 

THE TEMPTATION IN THE GARDEN 21 

ADAM AND EVE DRIVEN FROM PARADISE 23 

THE MURDER OF ABEL 25 

NOAH AND HIS FAMILY ENTERING THE ARK 28 

THE FLOOD DESTROYING THE EARTH 29 

NOAH OFFERING SACRIFICE 30 

THE TOWER OF BABEL 32 

ABRAHAM DEPARTING FROM HARAN 34 

THE SEPARATION OF ABRAM AND LOT 35 

MELCHIZEDEK SETTING BREAD AND WINE BEFORE ABRAHAM AND LOT 37 

ABRAHAM ENTERTAINING THE THREE ANGELS 39 

THE ANGELS WARNING LOT TO FLEE FROM SODOM 40 

ABRAHAM OFFERING UP ISAAC 41 

ABRAHAM SENDING AWAY HAGAR AND ISHMAEL 42 

ABIMELECH RESTORING SARAH TO ABRAHAM 43 

ABRAHAM'S SERVANT AND REBEKAH AT THE WELL 44 

REBEKAH RECEIVING PRESENTS FROM ABRAHAM'S SERVANT 45 

ESAU SELLING HIS BIRTHRIGHT FOR POTTAGE 48 

TACOB OBTAINING THE BLESSING FROM ISAAC 53 

JACOB'S VISION OF THE ANGELS 55 

JACOB AT THE WELL OF HARAN 57 

LABAN OVERTAKING JACOB 60 

JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL 62 

MEETING OF JACOB AND ESAU . « 64 

MASSACRE OF THE SHECHEMITES 65 

JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN 70 

JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH'S DREAMS 74 

JACOB'S SONS IMPRISONED BY JOSEPH AS SPIES 78 

JOSEPH BECOMING KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN 80 

JACOB BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH 81 

THE FINDING OF MOSES . ■ . 84 

7 



8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

pag a 

MOSES DEFENDING THE DAUGHTERS OF JETHRO . . . . : 86 

MOSES AT THE BURNING BUSH ( 87 

THE ROD OF AARON CHANGED INTO A SERPENT 89 

THE WATERS OF EGYPT CHANGED TO BLOOD 90 

THE PLAGUE OF FROGS 91 

THE PLAGUE OF LICE 93 

THE PLAGUE OF FLIES 94 

THE PLAGUE OF MURRAIN 95 

THE PLAGUE OF BOILS AND BLAINS 96 

THE PLAGUE OF HAIL 97 

THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS 98 

DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN OF EGYPT 100 

THE FIRST PASSOVER 101 

THE ISRAELITES DEPARTING FROM EGYPT 102 

PHARAOH'S HOST OVERWHELMED IN THE SEA 103 

THE ISRAELITES GATHERING MANNA 106 

VICTORY OF THE ISRAELITES OVER AMALEK 108 

WORSHIPPING THE GOLDEN CALF Ill 

MOSES AND THE TABLES OF THE LAW 113 

THE LAYER OF BRASS 114 

THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK 116 

THE CONSECRATION OF AARON ' = 117 

AARON OFFERING SACRIFICES 119 

THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES 129 

THE SONS OF AARON CONSUMED BY FIRE 121 

THE SCAPE-GOAT 123 

RETURN OF THE SPIES FROM CANAAN 125 

PUNISHMENT OF THE SABBATH-BREAKER . 127 

THE BUDDING OF AARON'S ROD 129 

MOSES SMITING THE ROCK 130 

THE DEATH OF AARON „ „ 131 

THE BRAZEN SERPENT 132 

BALAAM MEETING THE ANGEL 135 

THE DEATH OF MOSES 137 

OFFERINGS FOR THE PURIFICATION OF WOMEN 138 

PURIFICATION FOR LEPROSY 139 

SENDING THE LEPER OUTSIDE THE CAMP 149 

THE JEALOUSY OFFERING 1 tl 

ESCAPE OF THE SPIES H4 




EASTER MORNING — MARY AND THE RISEN LORD 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 9 

PAGE 

RAHAB SAVED AND ALL HER POSSESSIONS 145 

THE ARK PASSING OVER JORDAN 147 

THE ANGEL APPEARING TO JOSHUA 148 

THE DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO 149 

JOSHUA COMMANDING THE SUN TO STAND STILL 150 

SISERA SLAIN BY JAEL 152 

CALEB GIVING HIS DAUGHTER TO OTHNIEL 153 

GIDEON OFFERING SACRIFICE 154 

GIDEON AND HIS FLEECE 155 

GIDEON AND HIS LITTLE ARMY 156 

GIDEON DEFEATING THE MIDIANITES 157 

JEPHTHAH MEETING HIS DAUGHTER J. . . 159 

MANOAH OFFERING SACRIFICE 160 

SAMSON SLAYING A LION 161 

SAMSON SLAYING THE PHILISTINES 163 

CUTTING OFF SAMSON'S LOCKS . . 165 

SAMSON DESTROYING THE TEMPLE 166 

BENJAMITES TAKING WIVES FROM SHILOH . 167 

NAOMI RETURNING TO BETHLEHEM 169 

RUTH GLEANING IN THE FIELD OF BOAZ 170 

BOAZ BUYING THE PARCEL OF LAND 171 

HANNAH BRINGING SAMUEL TO ELI 173 

THE PHILISTINES TAKING AWAY THE ARK 176 

THE DEATH OF ELI 177 

DESTRUCTION OF THE IDOL OF DAGON „ . 178 

SAUL ANOINTED BY SAMUEL 182 

JONATHAN SMITING THE PHILISTINES 183 

THE LOT FALLS UPON JONATHAN 185 

THE DEATH OF AGAG 186 

GOLIATH SLAIN BY DAVID 189 

SAUL ATTEMPTING TO KILL DAVID 190 

ABIGAIL BRINGING PRESENTS TO DAVID 191 

SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR 193 

ABNER SLAIN BY JOAB 195 

ISH-BOSHETH SLAIN BY HIS SERVANTS 196 

DAVID DANCING BEFORE THE ARK 198 

NATHAN REPROVING DAVID FOR HIS SIN 199 

ABSALOM CAUSES AMNON TO BE SLAIN 201 

DAVID STONED BY SHIMEI 203 



10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

THE DEATH OF ABSALOM 204 

CESSATION OF THE PLAGUE 206 

SOLOMON ASKS WISDOM FROM GOD .- 208 

THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON 209 

THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITING SOLOMON 212 

IDOLATRY OF SOLOMON AND HIS WIVES 214 

REHOBOAM REFUSING TO REMIT TAXES 215 

DESTRUCTION OF THE ALTAR FORETOLD 217 

THE PROPHET SLAIN BY A LION 219 

HANANI IMPRISONED FOR REBUKING ASA 221 

ELIJAH'S PROPHECY AGAINST AHAB 222 

AHAB ACCUSED OF NABOTH'S DEATH 224 

JEZEBEL EATEN BY DOGS 225 

MICAIAH PROPHESYING AGAINST AHAB 227 

JEHOSHAPHAT'S PRAYER FOR HIS PEOPLE 229 

JEHOSHAPHAT'S VICTORY 231 

THE TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH 232 

ELISHA MULTIPLYING THE POOR WIDOW'S OIL 234 

ELISHA RESTORING THE SHUNAMMITE'S CHILD 236 

NAAMAN CURED OF HIS LEPROSY 238 

THE SYRIANS SMITTEN WITH BLINDNESS 240 

THE UNBELIEVER TRODDEN TO DEATH 242 

JEHU ANOINTED KING OF ISRAEL 243 

ATHALIAH PUT TO DEATH 246 

JOASH COLLECTING MONEY FOR THE TEMPLE 247 

REPAIRING THE TEMPLE 248 

ELISHA'S BODY RESTORING A MAN TO LIFE 250 

THE MURDER OF ZECHARIAH 251 

UZZIAH SMITTEN WITH LEPROSY 253 

ODED INTERCEDING FOR THE CAPTIVES 255 

IDOLS DESTROYED BY HEZEKIAH 256 

AN ANGEL DESTROYS SENNACHERIB'S HOST 259 

ISAIAH PROPHESYING HEZEKIAH'S RECOVERY 261 

CAPTIVITY AND REPENTANCE OF MANASSEH 264 

JOSIAH CONSULTS THE PROPHETESS HULDAH 266 

DEATH OF KING JOSIAH 268 

DANIEL'S ACCUSERS THROWN TO THE LIONS 270 

THE JEWS PREPARING TO RETURN 272 

EZRA OBTAINING HIS COMMISSION 273 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 21- 

MSB 

THE HEATHEN WIVES SENT AWAY 275 

NEHEMIAH INSPECTING THE RUINS 277 

REBUILDING THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM , 279- 

BRINGING FORTH THE LAW 281 

THE READING OF THE LAW 282 

NEHEMIAH PUNISHING EVIL-DOERS 284 

DESTRUCTION OF THE FLOCKS OF JOB 287 

THE HAPPY DAYS OF JOB 290 

THE HOLY FAMILY 294 

CHRISTMAS— THE SHEPHERDS AND THE MANGER 296 

THE CHILD JESUS IN EGYPT 2:8 

NAZARETH > 302 

HISTORIC PLACES NEAR JERUSALEM 306 

A STREET SCENE IN JERUSALEM 312 

JESUS AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA 316 

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT 319 

CHRIST AT GADARA 322 

LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER , . 826 

CHRIST SAVES PETER FROM SINKING 33C 

"I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE" .331 

FROM JAFFA TO JERUSALEM BY RAILROAD 334 

JESUS AND THE SISTERS OF BETHANY 337 

THE SHEPHERD— I SHALL NOT WANT 339' 

"LAZARUS, COME FORTH" 341 

CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN 343 

CHRIST ENTERING INTO JERUSALEM 345. 

THE WIDOW GIVING HER MITES 347 

"SIR, WE WOULD SEE JESUS" 34S 

CHRIST WASHING HIS DISCIPLES' FEET 349 

CHRIST IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE , &>1 

THE TAKING OF CHRIST 352 

CHRIST BEFORE PILATE 356 

JUDAS WENT OUT AND HANGED HIMSELF 359 

CHRIST LEAVING FOR GOLGOTHA 360 

THE WOMEN AT THE CROSS 364 

WHILE THEY COMMUNED TOGETHER JESUS HIMSELF DREW NEAR 367 

CHRIST'S ASCENSION 363 

ANANIAS RESTORING PAUL'S SIGHT 38S 

PAUL AND THE PHILIPPIAN JAILOR ,.395 



12 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

PAUL TAKING LEAVE OF THE ELDERS OF EPHESUS 401 

PAUL IN PRISON 403 

PAUL BEFORE FELIX AND DRUSILLA - 406 

PAUL SHIPWRECKED 409 

PAUL KEEPS THE SAILORS ON BOARD THE SHIP 411 

FULL PAGE PHOTOTYPE ENGRAVINGS IN COLORS. 

JOSEPH CAST INTO THE PIT 

THE FINDING OF MOSES 

THE BRINGING UP OF THE ARK 

THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITING SOLOMON 

VISIT OF THE WISE MEN , . . . 

CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE DISPUTING WITH THE DOCTORS 

CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN 

EASTER MORNING— MARY AND THE RISEN LORD 

FULL PAGE PHOTOTYPE ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ISAAC WELCOMING REBEKAH 

JACOB'S VISION OF THE ANGELS 

JACOB MOURNING THE LOSS OF JOSEPH 

JACOB MEETING JOSEPH IN EGYPT 

MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS 

MOSES BRINGING WATER FROM THE ROCK 

RUTH GLEANING IN THE FIELDS OF BOAZ 

THE SCRIBES READING THE CHRONICLES TO AHASUERUS 

CHRIST AND HIS MOTHER RETURNING FROM JERUSALEM 

CHRIST RAISING THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAIN . 

THE PARABLE OF THE LILIES 

CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN 

MINISTERING TO CHRIST'S AGONY 

JUDAS BETRAYING CHRIST WITH A KISS 

"CHRIST HAS RISEN" 

DORCAS GIVING ALMS 



o » 



THE CREATION 



AND 



THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 



ONCE there was no world such as we see now with its lakes and 
oceans, its mountains and valleys, its cities and villages, its men, 
women and children. The first words of the Bible are — "In the 
beginning God created the heaven and the earth;" so we see that the earth 
we live on and the heaven, with the sun, the moon, and the millions of 
stars, were all created by God, who made also all the animals, from the 
smallest • insect to the large lion and elephant, the birds which are so beau- 
tiful in their colors, and the fishes which live in the sea. 

The history of the creation is given in the first book of the Bible, 
"Genesis," which means, in Greek, "the beginning." In this history we 
may read how God made the earth and sea, the sun and moon, and the 
first man and woman, Adam and Eve, who were placed in the garden of 
Eden, but who, disobeying the commands of God, and so bringing sin into 
the world, were punished by being driven out of the garden, and made to 
earn their bread by hard labor, their sorrow being made greater by the 
wickedness of their son Cain. 

It was more than six thousand years ago that God created the earth, 
and at first it was .without regular form; earth and water were mingled; 
nothing grew on the surface; there were no trees or flowers, and no living 
creatures. All was darkness ; there was neither night nor day, neither 
summer nor winter ; no firm land, no sea, no stars or moon, no sound to 
break the silence. 

Then " the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," and 
the power of God was felt. He can do all things that seem good to him, 
and he made light to appear. The fourth verse of the first chapter of 
Genesis says, " God saw the light that it was good." And what a change 

2 17 



18 



THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 



it must have made! The sun and moon were not made at first, but there 
was a bright light which shone for a time, and then again came darkness, 
for God divided the light from the darkness, calling the light day, and 
the darkness night. And that great act of God's power marked the first 

of the six days of creation. 
When that first night 
had passed away, and there 
was again light on the face 
of the earth, God made the 
"firmament," that is the 
heaven, the word meaning; 
fixed and immovable, and 
divided the waters which 
were above, the moist clouds, 
from the waters which were 
below. So there was a sky 
above with the many forms 
and colors of passing clouds 
on the clear blue. What a 
wonderful change in the ap- 
pearance of the world must 
have taken place ! but as 
yet there were no living 
beings to see and admire > 
or to worship the Creator. 
Then night came again, 
and the work of the second 
day of creation was done. 

But there was much 
more to be done before the 
work of creation was com- 

ADAM AND EVE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. pleted There was nQW 

day and night, but there was no separation of land from water. 

On the third day, the vapors and mists having been lifted up on 
high, the waters were collected together, and the great seas were formed, 
into which flowed rivers, rising from springs which joined their waters, and 
so made wide and flowing streams. As the waters were thus collected 




THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 19 

together, the earth was left dry. Mountains and hills, the tops of which 
were almost hidden in the clouds, appeared, and rocks against which beat 
the great waves of the newly-created sea. But the hills and valleys were 
bare ; no grass or flowering plants were there, no forests, none of the 
beautiful blossoms which now we see. 

Then God completed the work he had begun. The same power 
which made the waves of the sea, which made the rivers flow through the 
valleys, and the earth to stand dry in the midst of the waters, bade grass 
to grow, flowers to bloom, sweet fruit to ripen, and lofty trees to cover the 
hills and make the valleys green. In three days the earth, which was at 
first dark and "without form and void," had been shone upon by a great 
light — the sky had been created, seas and rivers made, grass grown, herbs 
had appeared and cast seed upon the ground for new growths, and fruit, 
"whose seed was in itself" — stone fruit and fruit of the apple and orange 
kind — was there. What a change ! and a change which God, who made 
it- saw "was good." And with that instance of Divine power and wisdom 
the third day's work was ended. 

On the fourth day the sun and moon were created, " two great 
lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the 
night." The stars, also, were made to give light upon the earth. If we 
read this story of the fourth day's work carefully, as we should do, we 
shall notice that these great lights were not only to give light to the 
earth, but to prepare it for a new creation. The light of the first day was 
divided from the darkness, and when night came there was no light ; but 
now there was a lesser light of the moon and the stars to shine, so that 
the night was not quite dark. 

And God showed that there were to be other uses for these greater 
and lesser lights, which there would not have been if he had not made 
living creatures on the earth. The lights in the heavens were to be " for 
signs and for seasons, and for days and for years ; " that is, they were to 
be at all times signs of his power; their changes were to make seasons — 
spring, summer, autumn and winter — each to be a blessing; and the rising 
and setting of the sun, the changes of the moon and the return of the 
seasons would enable an account of time to be kept — were, as the Bible 
tells us, in the Book of Genesis, " for days and for years." 

The fifth day was a very wonderful day. Sun and moon and stars 
had been made, the waters had been divided from the land, and on the 



20 THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 

laud were grass and trees and fruit. Now the time had come for the crea- 
tion of animal life ; fishes were in the rivers, and birds flew about in the 
air; great whales swam in the ocean, and God bade the numbers of all 
that were in the sea to increase, and " fill the waters in the seas, and let 
fowl multiply on the earth." That was the fifth day's work, but as yet 
there were no animals on the land ; the sea and the air were full of living 
creatures, some very large, and some very small, but the earth had none. 

But on the next, the sixth day, God made animals to live on the 
drv land ; all those large creatures which are so wonderful ; the cattle 
which feed in the fields, and many small animals and insects described in 
the Bible as "everything that creepeth upon the earth." 

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our like- 
ness," and created Adam, more perfect than anything which had been 
made before, and having what none of the beasts of the fields or creeping 
things had — the gift of reason — for God "breathed into him the breath of 
life and he became a living soul." Man was fitted to rule over all that 
had been made, and God gave him power over all, and brought them to 
him ; and he named the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air. 

Although there were so many animals of every kind, Adam him- 
self had no companion, but God completed the work, and made the 
first woman, Hve, to be a " helpmeet ; " that is, a wife to be always with 
him, to love him, and be loved better than anything else in the world. 
Then God blessed them, and " saw everything that he had made, and 
behold it was very good." What a world that must have been when the 
all-wise God could say it was " very good ! " There was no sin, no pain, 
nothing but peace and happy creatures. 

So ended the six days of creation ; and then God, who had made such 
a beautiful world, rested on the next, the seventh day, and blessed it, and 
it has been blessed ever since, a day of rest and worship, when the weary 
find rest, and good men throughout the world praise and worship the God 
who made them and governs them by his wisdom, and good children raise 
their sweet voices in hymns of praise. 

The place where man was made was named Eden, and in one 
part of it was a garden, a beautiful place where grew flowers and trees, 
which bore fruit fit for the food of man. Through the garden flowed a 
fine river, which divided into four branches, to each of which the Bible 
has given a name, one of which, Euphrates, is still borne by one of the 



THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 



21 



great rivers of Asia, so that, although the Garden of Eden is no more, we 
can very nearly say whereabouts it was. It was near the country after- 
wards occupied by the Assyrians, that great and warlike people, who fought 
against the Jews, and about whom we may read so much in the Bible. 

God did not intend 
Adam and Eve to be idle, 
for he knows that work is 
necessary to happiness. He 
told Adam to work in the 
garden, to keep it in order, 
and to attend to the growth 
of the herbs and fruits that 
gave him food. There were - 
in the garden two trees 
which were not like the 
others, and to which were 
given the names of the Tree 
of Life, and the Tree of 
Knowledge of Good and 
Evil. That Tree of Know- 
ledge Adam and Eve were 
told not to touch. All the 
other trees in the garden 
were theirs, but that one 
alone they must not touch 
nor eat of, " lest ye die." 

That must have 
seemed very terrible to 
Adam and Eve, although, 
perhaps, they did not quite 
know what death meant, 
for as yet there was 
nothing in the world but happy life, and the death of anything was 
unknown. But no doubt the}^ knew that God would be very angry if they 
did not obey him, and that his anger would make them very unhappy. 
For a short time they were obedient and happy. Adam worked in the 
garden, and Eve helped him, and they enjoyed the sweet fruits for food. 




THE TEMPTATION IN THE GARDEN. 



22 THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 

Among the living things in the garden was a serpent, which, we 
are told in the Bible, was " more subtle (that is, cunning) than any beast 
of the field," and it was able to speak. None of the other animals which 
had been created could do that. But this serpent was really an evil spirit, 
the same which in other parts of Scripture is named Satan, and he was 
able to take the form of a serpent, and so to crawl near Eve and whisper 
to her. He asked her if she had really been told not to eat of the fruit of 
one tree, and when she replied that Adam and she would surely die if 
they did not obey the command not to eat of this one tree, the serpent 
told her that was not true, and that God had only told them not to eat 
because he knew that if they did they would be as wise as he was. 

The woman believed the serpent; the tree was loaded with nice 
fruit, " it was pleasant to the eye, and a tree to be desired to make one 
wise." She was not satisfied with being good, and wished to be as wise 
as God himself. She allowed Satan to persuade her, and tasted the fruit ; 
and Adam, who saw what she had done, forgot the command he had 
received and the punishment which he had been told would follow disobe- 
dience, and he also ate of the forbidden fruit. 

Directly they had eaten, they were changed creatures; no longer 
good, but feeling ashamed of themselves. They knew the Lord God was 
near, and for the first time they felt afraid to see him. They heard his 
voice calling, "Adam, where art thou?" Adam answered, "I was afraid, 
and hid myself." God knew that he had been disobeyed; and asked them 
if they had eaten of the tree he had told them not to touch. 

Adam tried to excuse himself by saying that Bve gave him the 
fruit, and she could only say, ashamed and afraid as she was, that the ser- 
pent had tempted her. Then God laid a curse upon the serpent, and said 
there should be enmity between it and the woman, and between her 
children and the offspring of the serpent, but that, in the course of time, 
the serpent's head should be bruised, which means that Jesus Christ 
should come to conquer Satan, and save from him all those who believed 
in the Saviour. Adam and Eve were told that sorrow and pain would be 
theirs all the days of their life; that they must live by hard work; that 
they would die, and would return to the dust whence they came. 

Adam and Eve were driven from the garden in which they had 
been placed, and at the entrance of Eden stood great angels with swords of 
fire, so that the wicked Adam and Eve could return no more. They had lost the 



THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 



23 



right to dwell in the beautiful garden, to eat the fruit and be happy and 
good; they had brought sin into the world, and, with sin, pain and shame. 

How sorry they must have been that they had so displeased God, and 
listened to the wicked advice of the serpent, instead of obeying the com- 
mands which the Lord 
himself had given ! They 
had not known what death 
was, but they were soon to 
know it in its most terrible 
form. They had seen the 
trees and flowers in the 
garden full of leaves and 
blossoms, but they had not 
seen them die; they had 
seen the animals which 
Adam had named full of 
life, but they had not seen 
them lying dead. 

We may read in the 
New Testament that "the 
first Adam brought death 
into the world," and it was 
the sin of Adam and Eve 
which did so. They must 
have worked hard to get 
food and clothing; they 
must have known what 
pain was, and must often 
have thought of the happy 
state in which they once 
were, and turned their eyes 
toward the garden of the adam and eve driven fro:.i paradise. 

Lord. But the angels were there with the flaming sword that turned every way. 

And never again will man see the beautiful garden of Eden. But 
those who have faith in the Saviour will, after death, go to a heavenly 
Paradise, where they shall see God, and Christ whom he hath sent. 




THE MURDER OF ABEL. 

ADAM and Eve had two sons ; the eldest was named Cain, and his 
brother, Abel. As they grew up, Cain helped his father to dig the 
ground, and Abel kept sheep. Although Adam and Eve had 
offended God and had been driven from Paradise, they had not, we may 
suppose, forgotten him, and had trained up their sons to worship him. 
When Cain and Abel grew up they each made an offering to the Lord. 

Cain brought fruits such as he had been taught to look after, and 
Abel brought lambs. No doubt Cain did not really worship God, and was 
not sincere in his offering, while Abel did love and fear God, and desired 
to please him ; for the Lord would not accept the sacrifice which Cain 
m^de, but was pleased with the offering of Abel. 

Cain was very angry when he saw this, and his face showed how 
angry he was. This was a proof that he was not in a fit state of mind 
to worship God properly, for we should be meek and gentle, if we may 
hope that God will hear our prayers or accept our praises. God saw how 
vexed and angry Cain was, and reasoned with him, "If thou doest well, 
shalt thou not be accepted ? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at thy 
door." But Cain would not listen to reason, even when the Lord spoke, 
but was angry with his brother because he had found more favor; and at 
last, giving way to his rage, struck him so that he fell dead at his feet. 

That was the first death of a man that had been known in the 
world, and the first death was a murder; not a quiet death, such, as good 
men meet, with prayer on their lips, and loving friends around, but a 
sudden, violent death, and the only one near to see the dying youth give 
up his breath was his own brother, who ought to have loved and' taken 
care of him, but who, in a fit of anger, had struck the blow that killed 
him. It was all owing to a sudden outburst of passion. Cain did not con- 
trol his violent temper, but gave way to it in a thoughtless moment and 
committed the greatest of all crimes. People who give way to wild outbursts 
of temper are sure to get into trouble, and do things that they regret in 
their calmer moments. 

Cain, we dare say, was filled with horror when he saw his brother 
lying dead at his feet ; but he was sullen, and, instead of asking forgive- 
ness for what he had done, tried to hide the deed, even from the Lord, 
24 



THE MURDER OF ABEL. 



25 



who sees every thing and knows every thought. God spake, and how 
awful his voice must have sounded in Cain's ear! He said, "Where is 
Abel, thy brother?" Cain said, "I know not," and added to such a 
shocking falsehood the wicked question, " Am I my brother's keeper ? " 

He was partly his 
brother's keeper, for he was 
the elder, and no doubt 
Adam and Eve trusted him 
to protect with his greater 
strength the darling and 
gentle Abel. God, however, 
was not to be deceived, and 
replied : " What hast thou 
done .? The voice of thy 
brother's blood crieth unto 
me from the ground. And 
now art thou cursed from 
the earth, which hath open- 
ed her mouth to receive thy 
brother's blood from thy 
hand ; when thou tillest the 
ground, it shall not hence- 
forth yield unto thee her 
strength ; a fugitive and a 
vagabond shalt thou be in 
the earth." 

God did not say that 
Cain should at once starve, 
that the earth should not 
give some fruit for his food, 
but that it should not yield 
" her strength," only give THE MURDER OF ABEL, 

him a little fruit, so that he should never have much, but be always poor 
and a wanderer from place to place. Cain knew what a punishment this 
was ; he had no hope to cheer him, nothing but the thought that for the 
rest of his life he should be homeless and wretched, and that he himself 
might meet as violent and sudden a death as his brother did. " My pun- 




26 THE MURDER OF ABEL. 

ishnient," he said, " is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven 
me out this day from the face of the earth." 

And then he knew that he had lost the favor o£ God, that favor of 
which, perhaps, he had heard his father and mother speak when telling their 
children of the happy time when they were in Hden, and which he had 
himself felt when peacefully tilling the ground, and seeing how happy the 
world around him was. With tears, perhaps, he said : " And from thy face 
shall I be hid." His happy life had passed away, his peace of mind had 
been for ever lost by his great crime, and, worse than all, he would never 
again see the face of his Lord and Maker. But he need not have been afraid 
of being killed. None would kill him, for God set a mark upon him, that 
he might be known, and threatened vengeance on any who should slay him. 

After Abel's death and Cain's banishment, Adam and Eve had 
another son, whom they named Seth. Eve hoped that he would grow up 
like the good Abel whom Cain had killed. She believed that this son was 
the gift of God, to take the place of the dear child she had lost, and said : 
u God hath appointed me another son instead of Abel," for neither Adam 
nor Eve forgot the Lord and his goodness, and they believed that he still 
watched over them as a Father, although they had sinned so greatly. 

When Seth had lived many years he had a son named Enos, and 
l>y that time, for Seth was a hundred and five years old when Enos was 
born, there were, no doubt, many men and women in the world, for, perhaps, 
Adam had other sons and daughters ; and we read in the Bible that about 
the time of the birth of Enos, men began to call upon the name of the Lord. 

Adam himself lived to the great age of nine hundred and thirty 
years, and, we may believe, told his children and grandchildren, and their 
children, too, how he and Eve had lived in Eden, but had been driven out, 
and warned them against giving way to sin, and forgetting God. 

Cain wandered into the land of Nod, to the east of the place where 
he had lived before the murder, and in the course of time — for men lived 
to a great age in the early days of the world — others came there, most 
likely the children of Seth, and Cain took a wife, and had a son whom he 
called Enoch, and built a city which he named after him. 

Cain had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren : among them 
Jubal, who invented music and musical instruments ; Tubal Cain, who 
worked in metals, made tools of iron and brass ; and Jabal, who gathered 
together flocks and herds, led, perhaps, a wandering life, and, as the Bible 



NOAH AND THE FLOOD. 27 

expresses it, " was the father of all such as dwell in tents, and of such as 
have cattle." 

We have just said that men then lived to a very great age, and the 
oldest man ever known was Methusaleh, who was the great-grandson of 
Enoch (not the son of Cain, but one of the descendants of Seth), and is 
said to have lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years. This Enoch was a 
good man, and the Bible says he "walked with God," and it is added "he 
was not ; for God took him." This, we are told in the New Testament, 
meant that Enoch did not die as other men did, but was taken to Heaven 
while yet alive. 

But "the children and grandchildren of Enoch, it is to be feared, 
forgot what a good man he was, for by the time his great-grandson Noah 
had grown up " the wickedness of man was great on the earth." 

" There were giants on the earth in those days," strong men who 
were " men of renown," that is, famous for their power and courage, but 
they were violent and wicked, had bad thoughts in their hearts, and forgot 
the Lord in whom their fathers had believed. God, we are told, repented 
that he had made man ; all the people were so wicked he determined to 
destroy them, and not only them, but the animals that he had made, " man, 
and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air." 

NOAH AND THE FLOOD. 

THERE was one man who still loved God, and was a just man. That 
was Noah, and the Lord willed to save him and his family, and 
for his sake to save also two of every kind of living thing. God 
had determined to send a great flood upon the earth, and he told Noah 
to make a large ark, or covered ship, which would hold all that he would 
save. Noah was taught how to build the ark. It was to be made of 
wood, there were to be rooms in it, and it was to be covered inside and 
outside with pitch. 

It must have been a very large ship, for it had three stories, and a 
window and a door in the side. It was the first ship that had ever been 
made, for the people in those days had, perhaps, scarcely seen the sea, or 
if they had seen it, would have been afraid, strong and bold as they were, 
to venture upon it, for they did not know how to build a boat to float 
safely, much more a ship large enough to hold a great number of persons. 



28 



NOAH AND THE FLOOD. 



They must have wondered what Noah and his sons were making, and, 
perhaps, laughed at him ; for if he told them that a great flood was coming 
which should cover the earth and destroy all living things except such as 
God had chosen to save, they were so unbelieving and wicked, and had so 

forgotten what they might 
have been told of the power 
of God, that they would 
not think Noah was speak- 
ing the truth. 

But Noah trusted in 
the Lord ; he knew that he 
was faithful to his promise, 
and went on working until 
the great ship, or ark, grew 
into shape, and was finish- 
ed : then, still obeying the 
command of God, Noah 
took a pair of every living 
thing, and enough food for 
them and himself and fam- 
ily, and when all was ready, 
he placed the beasts and 
birds and creeping things 
in the ark ; and he and 
his wife, and his sons, Shem, 
Ham, and Japlieth, and 
their wives, went, too, into 
the ark, and waited for the 
flood which they knew the 
Lord would send. 

He did send it. The 
Bible words are very strik- 




NOAH AND HIS FAMILY ENTERING THE ARK. 



ing, " all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows 
of heaven were opened, and the rain was upon the earth." You have, no 
doubt, seen heavy rain come down suddenly, pouring from the sky, and may 
have seen small streams quickly become like great rivers, as if all at once 
new springs of water had broken forth. If so, you will' be able to under- 



NOAH AND THE FLOOD. 



29 



stand the force and meaning of the words of the Bible and realize the fear- 
ful nature of the flood which overwhelmed the earth. 

But never since has there been such rain known as that which then 
fell upon the earth. Very heavy rain, even in the countries where there is 
most rain, seldom lasts 
above a few hours, and 
although we have wet sea- 
sons, some rain perhaps 
every day for a month or 
even more, yet the rain 
sometimes ceases, and some- 
times comes down gently. 
But Noah saw from the ark 
the rain coming down like 
a great torrent for forty 
days and forty nights. It 
did not slacken or stop. 

At first the little 
streams and great rivers 
rose and covered the fields. 
Then the waters rose higher 
and higher, drowning the 
cattle and wild animals 
which fled into caves. Men 
and women, trembling with 
fright, and knowing now 
how great was the power of 
the Lord whom they had for- 
gotten, and how truly Noah 
had spoken when he told 
them why the ark was built, 
climbed the hills for safety. THE FLOOD DESTROYING THE EARTH. 

But still the waters rose higher and higher. The valleys became 
one great sea; the smaller hills were covered. People who were too weak 
to climb were swept away by the great rush of waters, and others sought safety 
on the lofty mountains. But the rain poured down the sides of the highest hills, 
and men and women were carried away to death bv the force of the waters. 




30 



NOAH AND THE FLOOD. 



Then came the time when the mountain-tops were covered, and 
there was nothing but a great raging sea. The towns which the mighty 
men had built, all the work which they had done, were hidden beneath the 
waters; but the ark floated safely, for it was upheld by the power of the 

Lord, and in it was all that 
was left of the life which 
had been upon the earth. 
For a hundred and 
fifty days the waters were 
at their height, but Noah 
and those with him were 
safe, and then the flood 
abated, and the ark rested 
on the mountain of Ararat. 
After forty days Noah let 
a raven fly, and then a dove, 
but the dove could find no 
resting-place and so came 
back, but after seven days 
more was sent out again 
and then brought an olive 
leaf in its mouth, so that 
Noah knew that the waters 
had abated. 

After waiting seven 
days he let the dove fly 
again, and it did not come 
back. Noah then knew 
that there must be dry land, 
and, removing the covering 
of the ark, he looked out, 

NOAH OFFERING SACRIFICE. and once again saw the 

earth. The Lord had sent a great wind which drove the w r aters back, and 
soon dried the land. Then he told Noah to leave the ark, with his wife 
and sons and their wives, and all the living things that were with him. 

That is the wonderful story of the flood as told in the Bible ; and 
not long ago a clever traveller dug up some records, engraved on baked 




NOAH AND THE FLOOD. 31 

clay, from ruins where they had been hidden for thousands of years, which 
told nearly the same story. When Noah was once again on the earth he 
built an altar, and thanked God for his mercy, and God promised that the 
world should never again be destroyed by a flood, and that the rainbow in 
the clouds should be a witness of this promise forever. 

The Lord said he would never again destroy every living thing, but 
that so long as the earth remained the seasons should come in regular 
order; there should be seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and 
winter, day and night. And we may see how he has kept his promise ever 
since. Every year the leaves come upon the trees at the same time, the grass 
grows, the corn ripens and is ready for reaping, winter and summer come 
every year, every day the sun gives us light, and every night darkness comes.. 

God never fails, but what he promises that he performs. Whenever 
we see the rainbow in the clouds — and we may very often see it after 
a heavy storm of rain — we should remember how once God destroyed 
the wicked people of the world, all but a few righteous men and their 
families, and how he preserved them because Noah believed in him, and. 
did as he was commanded. Let us remember, too, that God promised. 
Noah, and, through him, promised us, that he would not again destroy- 
the world with a flood of water. 

The great flood, the story of which we have just read, was sent several 
thousand years ago, but not a year has passed since without the bow, with 
all its beautiful colors, being seen in the clouds, to remind us of God's; 
power and goodness. 

God blessed Noah and his sons, and told them that he gave thern. 
power over beasts, birds and fishes — that "every moving thing that liveth" 
would be food for them. He commanded them, too, that they must take- 
care of each other. Noah, no doubt, had told his children the shocking- 
story of the murder of Abel by his brother Cain ; and now the Lord again 
warned them against the sin of murder, saying, " Whoso sheddeth man's, 
blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made he man." 

But even Noah, who had been so good before the flood, fell into sin 
afterwards. Like Adam, he kept a garden, and he also grew vines, from 
which he made wine, and foolishly and wickedly drank of it too freely, 
and committed the sin of drunkenness. His son Ham saw him in a 
helpless state in a drunken sleep, and made a mock of him ; and for this 
Noah, when he awoke, cursed Ham and his son Canaan,, who had,, 



32 



THE TOWER OF BABEL. 



perhaps, mocked him too, and, while he blessed Shem and Japheth, said 
the others should be the servants of their brethren. 

Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood, and was 
nine hundred and fifty years old when he died. His three sons, Shem, 
Japheth and Ham, had many children, who spread abroad over the earth, 
and founded many nations in various places 

THE TOWER OF BABEL. 




THE TOWER OF BABEL. 



IT was about a hundred 
years after the flood, 

when men began to 
build the city and tower 
of Babel. They meant to 
make a very large place, 
and build a very high tower. 
I cannot be quite sure why 
they built them — the Bible 
does not exactly say. Some 
people think that the tower 
was built for the worship 
of the sun and the stars of 
heaven, as men had already 
begun again to turn from 
worshiping God only. 

Others think that 
men built this big place so 
that they might all live 
together. But God had said 
that different families were 
to spread abroad, so that 
the earth might be full of 
people. Whatever their 
reason was, God was not 
pleased with them, and he 
would not let them go on 
with the building. 



ABRAHAM AND LOT. 33 

I will tell you how lie stopped them. Up to this time every person 
in the world spoke the same language, so that they could all understand 
one another. Now, God made them speak in different tongues, so that they 
could not make out what the other said. 

If you were to go to India you could not understand the talk of 
Hindu children, nor can they understand English, unless they have been 
taught it. So these people began to call the same thing by different 
names, and they could not possibly tell what a man wanted when he asked 
for it. Perhaps one would ask for a hammer, and his companion would bring 
him a brush ; perhaps he would ask for mortar, and he would bring him a brick. 

Of course they could not go on building the city, so they left off, 
and called it Babel, which means confusion. " Because the Lord did there 
confound the language of all the earth." They then separated into com- 
panies : those that spoke all alike kept together. They then went abroad 
to different parts of the earth, as God had before told them to do. Thus 
the very means they used to keep together were the means God took to 
scatter them abroad, and spread them over the earth. 

ABRAHAM AND LOT. 

SHEM, the eldest son of Noah, was not one of those who were driven 
out of the land after the Tower of Babel had been built. He had 
children and grandchildren, and many years afterwards there was one 
of his race named Terah, who had three sons, named Abram, Nahor and 
Haran. Harau died young, and left one son, Lot, but the other brothers lived 
after their father's death. Abram married Sarai, and Nahor married Milcah. 

Abram had no children and stayed with his father, Terah, who took 
him and his wife, and Lot, the grandson of Terah and nephew of Abram, 
away from the land of Ur, where they had lived so long, intending to go 
into the land of Canaan, which perhaps he had heard of as being a very 
fine and fruitful country, where their flocks and herds could find plenty of 
food ; for in those days people did not live in houses and towns, but in 
tents, and moved about from place to place. But they did not get farthe* 
than Haran, which, perhaps, Terah named after his dead son, and there 
he stayed until he died. 

But God wished Abram to live in Canaan, and told him to leave 
Haran ; he did so, taking with him his wife Sarai, and his brother's son, 

3 



34 



ABRAHAM AND LOT. 



Lot, and his servants and all his riches. God promised him that from his 
family would spring a great nation, and that he should be a blessing to 
the world. God also promised that he would bless all that blessed Abram, 
and curse all that cursed him. Abram passed through the land as far as 

the Plain of Sichem and 
Moreh, and was told by the 
Lord that all that fair land 
should be his. God showed 
himself to Abram, who built 
an altar on the spot, and 
another on a mountain near 
Bethel, where he lived in a 
large tent. 

But although Abram 
was rich, and had been 
promised that all the land 
should be his, he was not 
without trouble. The peo- 
ple of the country, the Ca- 
naanites, were fierce and 
bold, and there came a fam- 
ine, so that Abram could 
not get enough food for 
himself and those who were 
with him. He knew that 
Egypt was a rich and fertile 
country, and he made up 
his mind to go there, and 
take with him his wife and 
family. He was not then 
so good a man as after- 
wards he was, but was 
timid, and forgot how right it is always to speak the exact truth, whatever 
may be the result. He feared that some of the Egyptians might wish to 
marry Sarai, who was very handsome, and might kill him ; he told her, 
therefore, to say that she was his sister. 

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, saw Sarai and took her into his house, 




ABRAHAM DEPARTING FROM HARAN. 



ABRAHAM AND LOT. 



35 



and for her sake treated Abram, who he thought was her brother, very 

well. But the Lord was angry with Abram for telling a falsehood, anl 

with Pharaoh for taking Sarai away, and he sent plagues upon the house 

of the king, who at length came to know the truth, and he was glad to 

give her back to Abram, 

at the same time blaming 

him for his deceit. He did 

not take any of Abram's 

wealth, cattle, silver and 

gold, but let him, and all 

that were with him, go. 

Abram and his wife, and 

Lot, with his servants and 

cattle, then went back to 

Bethel, where he had raised 

an altar, and prayed to the 

Lord, no doubt, to forgive 

him the sin of having told 

an untruth. 

Lot was also rich, 
having flocks and herds, 
and many tents for his ser- 
vants to live in. But he 
and Abram found that they 
could not dwell together, 
for, says the Bible, "The 
land was not able to bear 
them," which means that 
there was not food enough 
at that place for all their 
servants and cattle ; and the 
men who took care of the THE separation OF abram and lot, 

flocks and herds quarrelled and fought among themselves. Abram was 
greatly pained at this strife, for he loved Lot, his brother's son, and told 
him they had better part, but Lot might stay there if he chose, and Abram 
would go away, or, if Lot would like better to go, he would remain. 

Lot knew what a fine land there was to the east, in the valley of 




36 ABRAHAM AND LOT. 

the Jordan river, a laud like a garden, and he told Abrain he would go and live 
there. There were two cities there, on the border of a large lake, in the midst 
of this beautiful country, Sodoni and Gomorrah, and near them Lot dwelt. 

After Lot had gone away, the Lord told Abram that he would give 
him all the land, as far as he could see in every direction, for himself and 
for his children, for ever, and that his race should be so many that it would 
be as eas} r to count the grains of dust of the earth as to count them. 
Abram then removed his tent from Bethel, and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, 
in Hebron; and there, too, he set up an altar, and worshiped the God who 
had been so good to him. 

Lot, no doubt, thought he had found a very good place to live in 
when he reached the cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah; but the 
people of those places were very wicked, and the kings of the two towns, 
and other kings near, were at war with the kings of Shinar, Elam, and 
other places ; and, after long fighting, there was a great battle in a place 
known as the vale of Siddim, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were 
beaten, and fled, falling into pits of slime, or pitch, and those of the soldiers 
who were left alive hid themselves among the mountains. The other kings, 
who had gained the battle, then took away the riches of the two towns, and 
many of the chief people, and among them Lot, with all his wealth and his 
servants, intending to make them slaves. 

One of the men, however, escaped, and reached the place where Abram 
dwelt, and told him that Lot had been taken away, and was a captive 
Abram had many servants, all born in his house, and faithful to him, and 
he armed them and went in pursuit of the kings who had taken away his 
brother's son. He followed them as far as Hobah, which is near Damascus, 
and there he took from them Lot, with his people and his wealth, and guarded 
them back to Sodom, where he was met by the king of that place, and by 
the holy Melchizedek, king of Salem, who was, we are told in the Bible, 
"the priest of the most high God," and who blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed 
be Abram of the most high G~d, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed 
be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." 

The king of Sodom wished Abrain to take, as a reward, all the 
wealth he had brought back ; but he refused, saying that he had vowed 
to God he would accept nothing for what he had done, so that the king 
might not be able to boast that he had made him rich; but he allowed the 
men who went with him to have a portion of the rewards the king had offered. 




TSAAP WELCOMING REBEKAH 




3 



a 

H 

ft 
O 

o 



o 

3 



ABRAHAM AND LOT. 



37 



But, with all his riches and power, Abram was not happy. He had 
no children, and he thought that when he died, his steward, or chief 
servant, Eliezer, would take his place. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, 
and reminded him how he had before taken care of him and given him all 
things that were good for 
him: "I am thy shield and 
thy exceeding great re- 
ward." He promised him 
that he should have a son, 
and that his race should 
be as numerous as the stars 
in heaven, which no man 
could count. 

God also told him 
that he should possess all 
t he land ; but that his des- 
cendants should be for four 
hundred years captives and 
servants in a strange land, 
but that they should re- 
turn with great riches. To 
Abram himself, it was prom- 
ised that he should live to 
a good old age, and die 
peacefulry. Abram made 
a sacrifice to the Lord, and 
saw by strange signs that 
the vision he had had was 
real. The land which- God 
promised to Abram and his 
children reached from the 
river of Egypt to the Eu- 
phrates, a vast country. 

Abram was nearly a hundred years old when God repeated the 
promise he had made that he should be the father of a great nation. All 
Scripture names have particular meanings, and Abram is formed of two 
Hebrew words meaning " high father." God now told him to change his 




MELCHIZEDEK SETTING BREAD AND WINE BEFORE 
ABRAHAM AND LOT. 



38 ABRAHAM AND LOT. 

name to Abraham, which means "father of a great multitude;" for, said 
God, "a father of man}^ nations have I made thee." - Sarai's name, too, 
was changed to Sarah, which means " mistress," a title of honor, God 
saving, " I will bless her and she shall be a mother of nations." 

At first Abraham had not faith enough to believe the promise, for it 
seemed strange to him that Sarah and he should have any children now 
they were so old ; but God repeated the promise, adding that a son should 
be born whose name should be Isaac ; " he shall laugh,'' or " rejoice," 
showing the happiness he would bring to his parents. Perhaps some of 
vou have read a pretty little poem in which a dear baby is spoken of as 
" a smile of God ; " if so, you will understand how pleased Abraham and 
Sarah must have been to be told that they should have a son so named. 

We shall see that the promise was exactly kept, and when we read 
the history of the Jewish people in the other books of the Old Testament, 
we shall see how great they were, how many kings they had, and that 
Abraham was indeed the father of a great nation ; and, better still, in the 
New Testament we are told that the Lord Jesus Christ was of the race of 
Abraham, and that in him all the nations of the world are blessed. 

One fine summer day Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent, 
on the plain of Mamre, resting perhaps after labor, when he saw three men 
standing near him. In those times weary travellers could always make sure 
of having food and rest offered them when they reached a tent, and in that 
hot, dusty country washing the feet after a journey was very pleasant and 
refreshing. Water for that purpose was always offered as well as food; and 
Abraham, directly he saw the men, who he thought were tired and hungry 
travellers, went quickly to them, and, bowing low, asked them to rest in the 
shadow of the trees, eat some food which he would fetch, and wash their feet. 

While they rested, Sarah busied herself making a cake, and Abraham 
had a young calf killed, so that he might offer a good meal to the strangers. 
When the cake and meat were ready, they were, with butter and milk, set 
before the strangers, who ate, while Abraham, as the custom was, waited 
upon his guests. Abraham was so kind and hospitable because in those 
times it was the practice to be so, and if travellers had not been welcomed 
in that way by those who dwelt in the land, they might have died from 
hunger and thirst; but he did not at first know that his guests were 
angels, and that the Lord himself was speaking through them. 

When, however, they asked for Sarah, and the promise that she 



ABRAHAM AND LOT. 



39 



should have a son was repeated, Abraham knew that he was in the pres- 
ence of the Lord. Sarah did not know it, but when, hidden in the tent 
(for it was not the custom of Eastern women to show themselves much to 
strangers), she heard that before another year was over she should have a 
child, she laughed, but the 
Lord reproved her, and no 
doubt she was sorry after- 
wards that she had so very 
little faith. 

When they left the 
tent the strangers told Abra- 
ham that they were going 
to Sodom, and he offered 
to lead them on the way. 
As they were journeying, 
the Lord said he had de- 
termined to destroy that 
city because of the terrible 
wickedness of the people. 
The two angels who were 
with God left Abraham and 
went towards Sodom, and 
then Abraham, whose ne- 
phew, Lot, with his family, 
was in the wicked city, 
pleaded with the Lord for i J 
the righteous men who 
might be there. 

"If," was the ans- 
wer, "I find in Sodom fifty 
righteous within the city, 
I will spare all the place Abraham entertaining the three angels. 
for their sake." Abraham still prayed for the good men who might be 
there, even if not so many as fifty, and received the promise that if only 
ten were there the city should be spared. 

Abraham returned to his home, hoping, no doubt, that good men 
enough would be found in Sodom to save it ; but he did not know how 







40 



ABRAHAM AND LOT. 



very wicked the people were, for not even ten could be found ; and the 
two angels who had gone to the house of Lot, took him and his wife and 
two daughters, and led them out of the city, telling them to go to a small 

town a short distance off, 
where they would be safe. 
Then brimstone and 
fire were rained out of hea- 
ven upon Sodom and Go- 
morrah, which, with every 
living creature in them, 
were destroyed. Lot and 
his family were commanded 
not to look behind them 
when flying, but his wife 
disobeyed, and was imme- 
diately changed into a pil- 
lar ol salt. 

When, according to 
the promise, Isaac was 
born, his mother was full 
of joy, and said, referring 
to the name which had 
been given him, "God hath 
made me to laugh, so that 
all that hear will laugh 
with me.'' Isaac grew up 
a good child, and we may 
be sure was a great joy 
to his parents. So ten- 
derly, indeed, does he seem 

THE ANGELS WARNING LOT TO FLEE FROM SODOM. to have ^ een \ 0Ye( { Dy hi s 

father, that the Lord made him a means of trying Abraham's faith and 
obedience. The old father was told to take his little son to a mountain 
in the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a sacrifice. 

Abraham must have felt bitterly how hard it was to obey such, a 
command, but he had faith in God, and knew that the Lord's will must 
be done. Early in the morning he took Isaac and two of his servants, 




ABRAHAM AND LOT. 



41 



with wood for the burnt-offering, and an ass to help thern bear it, or 

perhaps for the lad to ride on. For three days they travelled, the father 

very sad, and the boy, not knowing why they were going so long a 

distance, no doubt, enjoying the ride, and talking prettily and innocently 

about all the strange things 

he saw. At length they 

reached the mountain, and 

then Abraham bade his 

young men remain behind, 

while he and Isaac went 

to make the offering. 

It was natural that 
the boy should ask where 
was the lamb that was to 
be killed, and his father 
answered sadly, " My son, 
God will provide himself 
a lamb for a burnt-offer- 
ing." Perhaps he hoped 
that the Lord was only 
trying his obedience, but 
yet he knew that he 
must obey; and when they 
reached the place Abraham 
built the altar, and then, 
binding his boy on to it, 
took the knife and was 
about to kill him, when 
he heard his name called 
out of heaven. He an- 
swered, "Here am I ; " and 
then what must have been Abraham offering up isaac. 

his joy to hear the Lord say, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither 
do thou anything unto him ; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing 
that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." 

Amazed and thankful, Abraham looked round and saw a ram 
caught by its horns in a thicket. He took it, unbound Isaac, and made 




42 



ABRAHAM AND LOT. 



of the rani a burnt-offering to the Lord. In order that the place where the 
altar was built might be known afterwards, he named it Jehovah-jireh, 
"the mount of the Lord." Again the voice of God was heard, repeating the 
promise of the greatness of the people of which Abraham should be the 

father, as many as the 
stars in heaven and the 
sand which is upon the 
sea-shore, and that in them 
should all the nations of 
the earth be blessed. 

Abraham, we may 
be sure, went down from 
the mountain a happier 
man than when he started 
on his journey. His dear 
child was with him, not 
led as a victim to be offered 
up, but with a promise of 
life and happiness, and 
future greatness. After that 
Abraham dwelt at Beer- 
sheba, a place where, some 
time before, he had made 
a covenant, or treaty of 
peace, with Abimelech, a 
Philistine chief or king, 
with whom Abraham had 
had a dispute about a well. 
Beersheba means "the well 
of an oath," or the well 
where a solemn promise 
was made. 

Abraham had another son whose mother was Hagar, a servant of 
Sarah, who made Abraham turn her and the child away. Hagar wandered 
in the wilderness of Beersheba, and then, being without food or water, she 
laid the boy down under a shrub, thinking he must die. 

She went a short distance away, for she could not bear to see her 




ABRAHAM SENDING AWAY HAGAR AND ISHMAEL. 



ABRAHAM AND LOT. 



43 



dear son die. While she was weeping the angel of the Lord spoke to her, 

showed her a well, from which she got water, and told her that her son 

should be the father of a great nation. No doubt Hagar, while living with 

Abraham, had learned to pray to God, and now found how ready he is to 

hear prayer. The name 

given to her son was Ish- 

mael, which means " God 

hath heard." He grew up 

to be a great archer, and 

some of his children were 

famous men. 

Abraham sojourned 
in Gerar. There his wife 
Sarah was taken from him 
by Abimelech. But God 
came to Abimelech in a 
dream by night and said 
to him, Behold ! thou art 
but a dead man for the 
woman which thou hast 
taken ; for she is a man's 
wife. Abimelech was told 
that he had been restrained 
from sinning against God 
by taking the wife of 
Abraham and was com- 
manded to restore her to 
her lawful husband. 

So he rose early 
in the morning and called 
all his servants and told 
them these things and abimelech restoring sarah to Abraham. 

the men were sore afraid. Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and 
men servants, and women servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and 
restored him Sarah his wife. 

And Abimelech said, Behold ! my land is before thee : dwell where 
it pleases thee. And unto Sarah he said : Behold ! I have given thy 




44 



ISAAC AND REBEKAH. 



brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold ! he is to thee a covering to 
the eyes unto all that is with thee. Thus she was reproved and Abraham 
likewise for having called her his sister. 



S 



ISAAC AND REBEKAH. 

ARAH died at the place afterwards named Hebron, in Canaan. She 
was a hundred and twenty-seven years old, and having lived so long 
with Abraham, he greatly mourned her loss. He bought the field of 

Machpelah, in which was 
a cave, for a burying-place, 
and there he laid the body 
of Sarah. He was very 
old, and felt that death was 
neai ; the Lord had blessed 
him in all things, and he 
wished that his son Isaac 
might be as happy as he 
had been. He could not, 
from age, rule over his 
hou.se, but he had a trusted 
servant, Eliezer, and he 
charged him not to choose a 
wife for his son from among 
the Canaanites where he 
then dwelt, but that he 
should go into his own 
country and there find a 
wife for Isaac. 

The wife chosen 
must come back with them, 
for, as the Lord had prom- 
ised his son should inherit 
the land where they then 
were, he must not remain 
in another place. The 
servant obeyed, took ten 




Abraham's servant and rebekah at the well. 




W 

en 
o 
1-1 

ft 
o 

co 

CO 

O 

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o 
a 







w 
« 
o 

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55 

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ISAAC AND REBEKAH. 



45 



camels and went to Nahor, in Mesopotamia. When lie reached that place, 
he made the camels kneel down outside the city, beside a well, to which 
the women of the place came to draw water. 

The servant had been trained by his master to fear God, and asked 
to be directed in the choice 



he was to make. He 
prayed that if he asked 
one of the j^oung women 
to give him drink from 
her pitcher, and she did 
so, and gave his camels 
drink also, that she might 
be the wife of Isaac. He 
had scarcely made the 
prayer before it was an- 
swsred, for there came to 
the well a beautiful young 
girl, Rebekah, the grand- 
daughter of Abraham's 
brother Nahor. She car- 
ried her pitcher on her 
shoulder in the Eastern 
manner, and went down 
to the well and filled it. 
The servant ran to 
her and asked her to 
let him drink from her 
pitcher. She let down her 
pitcher till it rested on 
her hand, and when he 
had drank from it, she 
saw that the camels were 
thirsty, and ran down to 




rebekah receiving presents from 
Abraham's servant. 



the well again, bringing up enough water for them all. The servant then 
gave her a golden ear-ring and golden bracelets of great value ; and asked 
her name, and whether there was room in her father's house for him to 
lodge. When she told him her father's name, and that he was the' son of 



4G ISAAC AND REBEKAH. 

Abraham's brother and Milcah, the servant blessed God that his mastei 
had again known his mercy and truth, and that he, the servant, who had 
been trusted so much, had been led to the house of his master's relations. 

Rebekah made haste home and told her mother what had happened 
at the well, and her brother, Laban, went out to Abraham's servant and 
invited him to come to the house, where room had been made for him, his 
men and camels. They were fed, but he would eat nothing until he had 
related the reason why he had come. He told them how his master, 
Abraham, had been blessed and had become powerful and rich, how he 
had been sent into that country to seek a wife for Isaac, and how the 
Lord God of his master had guided him in the way to meet with Rebekah, 
who was the child of Abraham's brother's son. 

Bethuel, Rebekah's father, and Laban, her brother, saw that it was 
the Lord's will, and consented to let her go if she were willing. She said, 
"I will go," and the servant brought forth splended presents, raiment, and 
jewels of gold and silver, and gave them to her, making also handsome 
presents to her mother and brother. He and his men were well feasted, 
and in the morning he started to return to Abraham, and with him went 
Rebekah and her maidens, her relations blessing her as she went. 

Isaac was walking in the fields in the evening when he saw in the 
distance the camels, with Rebekah and her attendants riding on them. 
She, too, had seen him, and asked the servant of Abraham who it was walk- 
ing in the fields as if to meet them. When told that it was Isaac, whose 
wife she was to be, she got off the camel and covered her face with a veil. 

The faithful servant told his young master where he had been, and 
that he had brought Rebekah to be a wife for him. Isaac, who had 
greatly mourned the loss of his mother, who had been dead about three 
years, received Rebekah tenderly, loved her, and took her to the tent 
which had been Sarah's, and made her his wife. 

After the death of Sarah, Abraham had another wife, Keturah, and 
six other sons; but as they grew up he gave them presents and sent them 
away into the east country, so that they should not trouble Isaac, to whom 
he gave all his wealth. At the age of one hundred and seventy-five good 
old Abraham died, and was buried by the side of his wife Sarah in the 
cave of Machpelah. God had greatly blessed him in his lifetime, and he 
continued his blessing to Isaac, and made him prosperous. 



JACOB AND ESAU. 

ISAAC and Rebekah were living very happily together, near Abraham's 
tents. But they had one great trouble — they had no child. They 
had been married a great many years, but no little children were 
making their home bright by merry play and happy voices ; so Isaac 
prayed very earnestly to God about it. 

And God answered his prayer. He said that Rebekah should have 
two sons, and that they should become afterwards — in many years — two 
nations ; that one people should be stronger than the other people, and 
that the elder should serve the younger. 

Not long after this two little baby-boys were born. They were 
twins — that means they were both born almost at the same time. The one 
who was just a very little the older was red and hairy, and they called his 
name Esau. The other, who was smooth and just like any other little baby, 
they called Jacob. But these names have a meaning. Esau means "hairy, 
or rough;" and Jacob means "a supplanter" — that is, one who displaces 
another, or steps into another's place. When the parents gave Jacob his 
name, they remembered that God had said the younger was to have the 
mastery over his elder brother. 

When the lads were about fifteen years old, their good old grand- 
father Abraham died. All his life he had walked with God. He had led 
an upright, holy and prayerful life, believing in and loving God with all 
his heart ; and he died at last in a good old age, being a hundred and 
seventy-five years old. 

Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him. In the cave of 
Machpelah, which he had bought from Ephron, and where he had buried 
Sarah, his dear and faithful wife, there they reverently laid down the body 
of him who was called the Friend of God, and the " father of all them 
that believe." 

And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed 
Isaac, his son. And Isaac and Rebekah took their two boys and went to 
live by Hagar's well. 

So the lads grew up; and Esau became a clever and successful 
hunter. He used to go out into the fields with his bow and arrows, and 
shoot birds and wild beasts; and he used to shoot the wild deer and bring 

47 



4d 



JACOB AND ESAU. 



it home, and have it roasted and made into savory meat for his father, Isaac. 

The flesh of deer is called venison; and Isaac liked venison very much. 

Jacob did not care for hunting. He was a plain man, with simple 

tastes and simple habits; and he lived quietly in a tent, and took care of 

sheep and goats. Jacob 

loved God ; and though, 

as we shall see, he was 

sometimes tempted to be 

sly, untruthful and selfish, 

yet God knew all that was 

in his heart, and he saw 

that he was humble-minded, 

and that he really did try 

to walk uprightly : so God 

loved him. 

But God did not 

love Bsau, for Esau was 

wicked, and had no wish 

to serve him. He did not 

care for God's promises, 

and he never tried to please 

him. Yet Esau was the 

favorite son of his good 

father, Isaac. Was it not 

strange ? Can you guess 

the reason of this ? 

It was because of the 

venison which he brought; 

but this was a very bad 

reason for loving him best. 

Rebekah, however, loved 
ESAU SELLING HIS BIRTHRIGHT FOR POTTAGE. ^ younger son the best 

One day Esau had been out in the fields hunting, and he came back very 
tired, and quite faint for want of food. Now Jacob had just made some 
soup for himself of lentils, which are a small kind of bean; and when 
Esau saw it he longed for it, and said to Jacob, "Feed me, I pray you, 
with that red soup, or pottage, for I am faint." 




JACOB AND ESAU. 49 

And Jacob said, "If I give it to you, will you give up to me all 
your rights as the eldest son? " 

And Hsau answered, "Behold, I am at the point of death, and so 
my birthright will do me no good." 

" Promise me then faithfully that you will give your birthright to 
me," Jacob said. 

And Esau promised. So he sold his right as the elder for a basin 
of soup. 

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils. And he ate and 
drank, and then rose up and went away; thus he despised his birthright. 

But God was displeased at what he had done. Esau, as eldest son, 
was his father's heir; and special blessings and privileges were to be the 
portion of the first-born. All the laud of Canaan was promised to Abra- 
ham's children, and it would naturally come to be the inheritance of the 
first-born. But it would seem as if Esau did not care for blessings that 
were in the future and that he could not see ; the reason, no doubt, being 
that he did not believe in them. 

But Jacob had faith, and believed all God's promises. As his father 
Isaac was, of all Abraham's children, the one most blessed by God, so 
Jacob wished that God's special blessing should come on himself, and not 
on his elder brother. Yet he behaved very wrongly in the way he tried 
to get it ; and God blessed him, not because of it, but in spite of it. 

After this there was a famine in the land of Canaan. Do you know 
what a famine is ? It is a scarcity of food ; when men, women, and little 
children cannot get enough to eat. A famine is a terrible thing. People 
become so weak and ill from starvation that at last they lie down and die. 
Whenever there is a famine, hundreds and hundreds of people are killed 
by it; and think how dreadful a thing it must be to be starved to death! 

So, because of the famine, Isaac left the place where he was living, 
and went a little further off to a place called Gerah, where the king of 
that country lived. And I think that when Isaac saw how scarce food 
was there, he must have intended to go down into Egypt; for the Lord 
appeared to him, and said, " Do not go down into Egypt. Dwell in this 
land, and I will be with you, and bless you ; for to you, and to your 
children, I will give all these countries ; and all the nations of the earth 
shall be blessed in your family, because Abraham obeyed my voice, and 
kept my commandments and my laws." 
4 



50 JACOB AND ESAU. 

So Isaac stayed in Gerah. And he sowed corn in that land; and 
God prospered him as he had promised, and gave him a wonderful harvest. 
While his neighbors scarcely reaped at all, Isaac had an abundance of 
corn. And he went on prospering in all that he did, so that he became very 
great and rich ; for he had large flocks of cattle and sheep, and a very great num- 
ber of servants. And the people of that land were jealous, and envied him. 

Then they began to show their angry feelings by doing spiteful 
things. They stopped up all the wells that Abraham's servants had made, 
and filled them with earth. This was doing much mischief, and a great 
mi kindness, for now the cattle were in danger of dying of thirst. But 
Isaac's servants digged the wells again, and called them by the same names 
that Abraham had given them. 

The men of Gerah, however, were always quarrelling with Isaac's men 
about the wells, and the king at last begged Isaac to go away. He said, " De- 
part from us ; for you are much stronger and more prosperous than we are." 

So Isaac took Rebekah his wife, and his two sons, Bsau and Jacob, 
and went quite a way from there. He returned to Beer-sheba, which was 
the place where he was born, where he grew up, and where he lived so 
long near to his parents' tents. 

When Esau was forty years old he did a thing which distressed 
his father and mother very much. He married two wives, and they were 
both women of Canaan. 

How could he expect the blessing of God, when he took his com- 
panions from a people who were exceedingly wicked, and who were under 
God's curse ? Ah ! it showed only too plainly that he did not care for 
God's blessing upon his marriage, nor upon his home ; and this was a sore 
trouble and a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. 

Yet still Isaac loved his godless son the best, and wished to give 
him the best blessing — the blessing of the first-born. He wished to make 
him his heir — to leave to him all his riches, and to pass on to him all 
those glorious promises of spiritual blessings of which Bsau was quite 
unworthy, and for which he did not care. 

Some years passed away, and Isaac had become a very old man. 
He was a hundred and thirty-five years of age (at that time his sons were 
seventy-five years old), and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see. 
And he called Esau, his eldest son. and said to him, — "My son." And 
Esau answered, "Behold, here am I." 



JACOB AND ESAU. 51 

And Isaac said, " Behold now, I am old ; I do not know how soon 
I may die. Now therefore take, I pray you, your weapons, your quiver" 
(a quiver is the case in which arrows are placed) " and your bow, and go 
out to the field, and get some venison for me ; and make me the savory 
meat that I like so much, and bring it to me, that I may eat ; then I 
shall bless you before I die." 

And Esau went to the field to hunt for vension, and to bring it. 
But Rebekah heard what Isaac had said to his son Bsau, and she began 
to think how she might get the best blessing for her own favorite — Jacob. 
She thought it could only be done by deceiving her husband, who was 
blind and old ; and she was so anxious that the younger son should get 
the blessing intended for Esau, that she made up her mind to steal it for 
him if she could. 

This was her plan. She said to Jacob, " Behold, I heard your 
father speak unto Esau your brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make 
me savory meat, that I may eat, and bless you before the Lord before my 
death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and do exactly what I tell 
you. Go to the flock, and look out two good kids of the goats ; then bring 
them to me, and I will make savory meat for your father, such as he likes 
so much. And you shall take it to your father, that he may eat, and that 
he may bless you before his death." 

And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, " Behold, Esau my brother 
is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man : perhaps my father will feel me, 
and then he will find out that I was trying to deceive him ; so I shall 
bring a curse upon myself, and not a blessing." 

And his mother said, " Let the curse come upon me, my son ; only 
obey my voice, and do as I have said." 

Then Jacob went and brought two kids to his mother ; and she 
made savory meat, as his father loved. And Rebekah took some beautiful 
garments which belonged to her eldest son, Esau, which were with her in 
the house, and put them upon Jacob, her younger son. And she covered his 
hands and his neck with the skins of the kids of the goats; so that his 
hands and his neck might feel hairy, like those of his brother Esau. 

When all this was done, Rebekah put into Jacob's hand the savory 
meat and the bread which she had prepared 

And he came to his father and said, " My father." And Isaac 
answered, "Here am I; who are you, my son?" 



52 JACOB AND ESAU. 

And Jacob said to his father, " I am Esau your first-born. I have 
done as you bade me. Arise, I pray you, and eat of my venison, that you 
may bless me." 

And Isaac said unto his son, " How is it that you have found it so 
quickl} r , my son ?" 

Jacob replied, " Because the Lord your God brought it to me." 

I wonder Jacob was not afraid to say this, and to use God's name 
when he was sinning against God, and against his poor old father, and 
Esau. And is it not sad to see how he went on telling one untruth after 
another? Poor old Isaac could not see, but he could hear ; and he did not 
think it sounded like Esau's voice. He was not quite satisfied yet, so he 
said, "Come near, I pray you, that I may feel you, my son, whether you 
are indeed my very son Esau or not." 

And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him and 
said, " The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau " 

And Isaac did not find out who it was, because his hands were hairy 
as his brother Esau's hands. But once more he asked him, " Are you my 
very son Esau?" 

And again Jacob lied to his father, and said, " I am." 

Then Isaac said, " Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's 
venison, that my soul may bless you." 

And Jacob brought it to his father, and he did eat; and he brought 
him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac said to him, " Come near 
now, and kiss me, my son" 

And Jacob came near and kissed him. And he smelled the smell of 
his raiment (you remember, Jacob was wearing Esau's garments, and most 
likely they were perfumed, as was often the case in those countries), and 
he blessed him and said, " See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a 
field which the Lord has blessed ; therefore God give you of the dew of 
heaven, so that the earth may bring forth abundantly for you, and that 
you may have plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve you, and nations 
bow down to you ; be lord over your brethren, and let your mother's sons 
bow down to you. May God punish every one who injures you, and may 
he bless all those who do you good." This was the blessing. 

But Isaac had forgotten that God had said, " The elder shall serve 
the younger." Though he was really blessing Jacob, he thought he was 
blessing Esau ; and such words as these, " Be lord over your brothers, and 



JACOB AND ESAU. 



53 



let your mother's sons bow down to you," should never have been spoken 
to Esau, for it was against God's will. 

Well, it came to pass as soon as Isaac had made an end of bless- 
ing Jacob, and Jacob was 
scarcely gone out from the 
presence of Isaac his father, 
that Hsau his brother came 
in from his hunting. And 
he also had made savory 
meat, and brought it unto 
his father ; and he said 
unto him, " Let my father 
arise, and eat of his son's 
venison, that your soul 
may bless me." 

And Isaac his father 
said to him," Who are you?" 

And he answered , 
" I am your sou, your first- 
born, Esau." 

Then Isaac trem- 
bled very exceedingly, and 
said, "Who? where is he 
who has hunted venison, 
and brought it to me, and 
I have eaten of all before 
you. came, aud have blessed 
him ? yes, and he shall be 
blessed." 

When Esau heard 
the words of his father, he JACOB OBTAINING THE BLESSING FROM ISAAC. 

cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, " Bless 
me, even me also, O my father!'' 

And Isaac said, ' Your brother came slily, aud has taken away 
your blessing." 

And Esau felt exceedingly angry with Jacob, and said, " Is he not 
rightly named Jacob ? for he has stepped into my place these two times : 




54 JACOB AND ESAU. 

he took away my birthright ; and, behold, now he has taken away my 
blessing. But have you not kept a blessing for me ? " . 

And Isaac answered and said unto Bsau, "Behold, I have made him 
your lord, and all his brethren have I given him for servants; and with 
corn and wine have I supplied him : and what shall I do now unto you, 
my son ? ' ' 

And Esau said unto his father, "Have you but one blessing, my 
father? bless me, even me, also, O my father!" And Bsau lifted up his 
voice and wept. 

Then Isaac, his father, answered and said unto him, "Behold, your 
dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven 
from above. You shall have an abundance of the good things of this 
world, and you shall live by your sword, and shall serve your brother; but 
it shall come to pass that, when you shall have the power, you shall set 
yourself free from him again." 

Some one had overheard what Bsau said when he threatened to kill 
Tiis brother, and had told Rebekah about it. She was greatly distressed, 
and sent at once to call Jacob, her younger son, and said to him, — 

"Behold, your brother Bsau is planning to kill you one day. Now 
therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, go quickly and secretly to 
Labaii my brother, who lives in Haran ; and stay with him a short time 
till your brother's fuiy turn away ; until your brother's anger turn away 
from you, and he forgets that which you have done to him: then I will 
send and fetch you home again. Why should I be deprived of you both 
in one day?" 

Rebekah did not tell Isaac what Bsau was going to do ; perhaps 
she thought it would distress him too much. But she gave him another 
reason for wanting to send Jacob away to her own country. So she said 
to her husband, — 

" I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Canaan. If 
Tacob should take a wife of the daughters of the land, as Bsau has done, 
it will distress me all my life long." 

Isaac felt that Rebekah was right in what she said, and that Jacob 
ought to be sent away to his own relations far off, that he might choose 
a wife from the family of Shem. So he called Jacob and blessed him, and 
gave him a solemn charge, or order, and said to him, — 

" You shall not take a wife of the maidens of Canaan ; but arise, 



JACOB AND ESAU. 



55 



go to Haran, to the house of your mother's father, and take one of the 

daughters of Laban, your mother's brother, to be your wife. And God 

Almighty bless you, and make you prosperous, and increase you, that you 

may be a multitude of 

people ; and give you the 

blessing of Abraham, to 

you and to your children 

also, that you may inherit 

the land which God gave 

to Abraham." 

Then Isaac and Re- 
bekah sent away Jacob ; 
and he went out from Beer- 
sheba and took the way 
toward Haran. 

So Jacob set out on 
his journey ; and I have 
no doubt he felt very 
lonely and sad as he left 
his old home, where he 
had lived quietly and con- 
tentedly for so many years. 
He was no longer a young 
man, for he was seventy- 
five years old ; and I dare 
say he thought it hard 
to be obliged to begin a 
new life all by himself. 
Ah ! if he had not deceived 
his father, and cheated his 
brother, he would never Jacob's vision OF THE ANGELS. 

have been sent away like this : it was the consequence of his own sin. 
And now the day had come to an end. The sun had set and he 
could not sea his way any further that evening ; so he determined to rest 
for the night in the place to which he had come. He took a stone, and 
arranged it for a pillow, and then he lay down to sleep. It was not a 
very pleasant bed, but he had a very sweet and wonderful dream there. 




56 JACOB AND KSAU. 

This was his dream. He saw a ladder set up on the earth, and the 
top of it reached to heaven ; and behold, the angels of-God were ascending 
and descending (that is, going up and down) on it. And behold, the 
Lord stood above it, and said, " I am the Lord God of Abraham, and the 
God of Isaac : the land on which you are lying I will give to you and to 
your children ; and your family shall be as the dust of the earth for 
number, and shall spread every way — to the west, and to the east, and to 
the north, and to the south : and in you and in your children shall all the 
families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with you, and will 
keep you in all places where you are going, and will bring you again into 
this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that which I have 
spoken to you of." 

When Jacob awcke out of his sleep, he said, " Surely the Lord is 
in this place, and I knew it not!" And he was afraid. I think, when 
he felt the nearness of God to him, he then saw his own sinfulness, and 
how unworthy he was of so much loving-kindness and favor. He said, 
" How dreadful is this place ! This is none other but the house of God, 
and this is the gate of heaven." 

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he 
had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the 
top of it. He had nothing else to give to God as a thank-offering, so he 
poured upon this stone the oil that he had brought for his journey. And 
he called the name of the place Beth-el, which means " The house of God." 

It took Jacob a great many days to get to his journey's end, for it 
was about four hundred miles from Beer-sheba to Haran; but at last he 
came into the land of the people of the east. 

And he looked, and behold there was a well in the field, and lo, 
three flocks of sheep were lying by it. This was the well to which all 
the cattle were brought for water, but just now a great stone was upon 
the well's mouth. 

You remember, I have already explained to you that in those hot 
countries wells are very valuable, for there is often a great scarcity of 
water. Sometimes the wells are locked up or fastened, and are or n y 
opened once or twice a day, when all the flocks are gathered together; for 
it is necessary to be very careful that there should be no waste of water. 
Sometimes the wells are covered over with a large stoue, or with boards, 
to keep the dust and sand from drifting in. 



JACOB AND ESAU. 



5? 



When Jacob saw the men waiting beside the well with their sheep, 
he said to them, " My brethren, where do you come from ? " 

To this question they answered, " We come from Haran." 

Jacob must have felt very glad to hear this, for Haran was the very 
town to which he was going. 
Then he asked them, " Do 
you know Laban, whose 
grandfather was Nahor, 
Abraham's brother ? " 

"Yes," they replied, 
" we know him." 

"Is he well?" Ja- 
cob asked. 

And they said " He 
is well ; and, behold, here 
is Rachel his daughter 
coming with the sheep." 

And Jacob said, " It 
is not time that the cattle 
should be gathered together 
yet ; why do you not give 
water to the sheep, and 
then go and feed them ? " 

And they answered, 
" We must not draw any 
water until all the flocks are 
gathered together, and till 
they roll the stone away 
from the well ; then we may 
draw water for the sheep." 

While Jacob was 
talking with the men, Ra- J ACOB AT THE WELL 0F haran. 

chel came with her father's sheep, for she kept them. And it came to pass when 
Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep 
of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled away the stone 
from the well. Then he drew water for all Laban's flock. It was hard work 
to draw so much water ; but Jacob was glad to do it for Rachel, to help her. 




58 JACOB AND ESAU. 

And Jacob kissed Rachel ; and he lifted up his voice and wept. It 
was not that he was unhappy now — that was not why- he wept ; they were 
tears of thankfulness and gladness. He was thankful to God for bringing 
him safely on his journey, and guiding him to the right place; and he 
was so glad to see one of his relations again — for, you know, Rachel was 
his cousin. 

And Jacob told Rachel that he was Rebekah's son, and that Laban 
was his uncle ; and she ran and told her father. 

And it came to pass when Laban heard that Jacob, his sister's son, 
had come, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, 
and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all that had happened 
to him. 

And Laban said, "Surely you are of our family and belong to us." 

Now Laban had two daughters : the name of the elder was Leah, 
and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Rachel was very beauti- 
ful, and Jacob loved her very much ; and he wanted her to be his wife, so 
that she might be his companion always. So he said to Laban, " I will 
be your servant for seven years, if you will give me Rachel, your younger 
daughter, to be my wife." 

And Laban answered, " Yes, I will do as you wish ; so stay 
with me." 

And Jacob served Laban very faithfully and well for seven years ; 
and it seemed to him only as a few days, because he loved her so much. 
And at the end of the seven years he said to Laban, " Give me my wife, 
for I have served out my full time." 

Then Laban made a great feast — a marriage feast — and invited all 
his friends and neighbors to it. And the bride was covered with a long 
veil from her head to her feet, which quite hid her face from every one ; 
and after the wedding she was taken to Jacob's tent. Then the veil was 
taken off, and behold, it was Leah to whom he had been married, and not 
to Rachel whom he loved. 

Jacob was very angry at having been so cheated, and he went to 
Laban, and said, " What is this that you have done unto me ? Did I not 
serve you for Rachel ? Why then have you deceived me ? " 

And Laban said, " It is not the custom in our country that the 
younger should be married before the elder ; but I will give Rachel also 
to be your wife, if you will be my servant for seven more years." 



JACOB AND ESAU. 5J* 

And iiow Jacob was beginning to think longingly of bis old borne 
in Canaan, and to wish to return there, and to see his parents once more. 
He had finished his term of service, and had been Laban's shepherd for 
fourteen years ; and so, as soon as Joseph was born, Jacob said to Laban, — 

" Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my 
country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served 
you and let me go ; for you know how useful I have been to you." 

But Laban did not want Jacob to go away. He found him such a 
faithful seivant and son-in-law. that he felt as if he could not spare him. 

One day as Jacob was taking care of Laban's flocks, God spoke to 
him, and said, " Return unto the land of your fathers, and to your family, 
and I will be with yon." 

And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field where he 
was ; and when they came he said to them, " I see your father is not as 
friendly to me as he used to be ; but the God of my fathers has been with 
me. And you know that with all my power I have served your father; 
and your father has deceived me, and has changed my wages ten times ; 
but God would not let him hurt me. For he has taken care of me, and 
it is he who has taken the cattle of your father and given them to 
me. If your father said, The speckled shall be your wages, then all the 
cattle that were born were speckled ; and if he said, The striped cattle 
shall be your wages, then all that were born were striped." So this 
was God's doing. 

Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels ; 
and he carried away all the cattle that belonged to him, and all the goods 
which he had gotten in that country, to go to Isaac his father in the 
land of Canaan. 

He did not tell Laban he was going away, because he could not 
trust him. Laban at that time had gone to shear his sheep ; and Rachel 
took the opportunity of going into her father's house and stealing some 
images or idols which belonged to her father. But Jacob did not know 
what she had done. 

So he fled with his two wives and his children, and his men-servants 
and maid-servants, and his flocks and herds ; and he passed over the river, 
and set his face to go toward Canaan. 

Three days passed away before Laban knew that Jacob had gone ; 
and when he found that he had taken his family and all his goods, he was 



60 



JACOB AND ESAU. 



exceedingly angry. He missed his images too, and thought that Jacob had 
stolen them ; so he took some men with him, and set out in great haste, 
and with very unkind, angry feelings in his heart, to overtake Jacob. 

For six da}^s Laban and his party journeyed on without coming up 

to him ; but that night 
(the sixth night) God came 
to Laban in a dream, and 
said to him, — 

" Take care that you 
do net speak to Jacob 
either good or bad." God 
meant that Laban was not 
to try to persuade Jacob 
to go back to Haran, 
either by kind words or 
by threats. 

Next day Laban 
went on with his journey 
again, and then at last 
he met Jacob, who had 
pitched his tents, and was 
resting his family and his 
flocks after their long 
journey. They had been 
travelling for six days, 
and this was the seventh 
day of rest. Laban was 
longing to say bitter 
words to Jacob, and to 
do him some unkindness ; 
but he did not dare to 

LABAN OVERTAKING JACOB. disobey God. 

After this, Jacob went on his journey again with a thankful heart, 
because God had saved him from Laban's anger, and had made them to 
part friends. And as he went on his way the angels of God met him. We 
dc not know with what appearance they came, but Jacob knew they were 
the angels of God, and he said, "This is God's host" (or army). 




JACOB AND ESAU. 61 

How wonderful was God's love and kindness to Jacob ! And how 
often he gave him fresh tokens of his unceasing care and watchfulness 
over him ! By the angels that he had seen in his dream, ascending and 
descending upon the ladder, God had taught him that his angels were 
always about him. But now he was permitted to see them, not in a dream, 
but with his own eyes, face to face. 

Is it not sweet to think that God and his angels are also with us 
continually ? It is written in the Psalms, " The angel of the Lord 
encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." And 
the Lord Jesus said, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end 
of the world." 

How careful it should make us, both in what we say and in what 
we do, when we remember that God's eye is ever upon us ! 

As Jacob journeyed on, he was now coming to a part of the country 
where his brother Esau lived ; for Esau had gone away from Beer-sheba, and 
was not now living near his father Isaac's tents. And Jacob was afraid 
to meet his brother, for he did not know if he had forgiven him about the 
birthright, and the blessing, of which Jacob had robbed him. So he sent 
some men with a very humble message to his brother. 

Jacob went amongst his cattle and put apart a great number of them 
as a present for Esau, his brother. There were two hundred and twenty 
goats, and two hundred and twenty sheep, thirty camels (each with its 
young one), forty cows and ten bulls, and thirty asses. All these animals he 
gave into the care of his servants, every drove by themselves; and he said to 
his servants, " Pass over before me, and put a space between drove and drove." 

And he commanded the foremost (those that went in front) saying, 

' When Esau my brother meets you, and asks you, saying, Who is your 

master ? and where are you going ? and to whom do these cattle bslong ? 

then you shall say, They are your servant Jacob's; it is a present sent 

unto my lord Esau : and, behold, also he is behind us." 

And Jacob commanded the men that had care of the second and the 
third droves, and all that followed after them, to say the same words. 
And he said to them, " This is the way you shall speak unto Esau when 
you find him. And say, moreover, Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us." 

For Jacob said, "I will make him feel kindly towards me because 
of the present that goes before me, and afterwards I will see his face ; 
perhaps he will be friendly with me." 



62 



JACOB AND ESAU. 



So tiic present went over before him; and lie himself remained 
behind in that place that night. And in the night he rose up and took 
his two wives, and his two women-servants, and his eleven sons, and all 
that he had, and sent them over the brook for greater safety. 

And Jacob was left 
alone. I think he must 
have stayed behind by him- 
self that night that he 
might again pray to God 
with all his heart to be 
kept in safety, and that 
Bsau might not hurt either 
his wives or his children. 
He had done all that he 
could think of to make his 
brother friendly to him ; 
but he knew that unless 
God helped him all his own 
efforts would be useless. 

And while he was 
there praying to God alone 
in the darkness, a man 
came to him and wrestled, 
or struggled, with him. 
He looked like a man, but 
it was an angel ; yet not 
a created angel, but even 
the Angel of the Cove- 
nant, Jehovah Jesus him- 
self, in the form of a man. 
Happy, blessed Jacob! 

And the Angel wres- 




JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL. 



tied with him until the dawning of the day. The struggle lasted a long 
time, but Jacob would not let go his hold. Then the Angel said to Jacob, 
■'Let me go, for the day is breaking." 

And Jacob said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." 

And the Angel said, "What is your name?" 



JACOB AND ESAU. 63 

Aud lie answered, "Jacob." 

And he said, " Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but 
Israel " (that means " a prince of God ") : " for as a prince you have 
power with God and with men, and have prevailed." 

Then Jacob asked him, saying, " Tell me, I pray thee, thy name." 

But the Angel said, " Why is it that you ask after my name ? " 
And he blessed Jacob there. 

And he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh, so that he became 
lame ; and Jacob was always lame after that to the day of his death. Do 
you think he was sorry and pitied himself for his lameness ? 

Oh no. He felt how much honor had been put upon him, and he 
was full of gratitude that his life had been preserved in that struggle. 
Jacob had now the constant memory, every day, of the wonderful love and 
condescension of him who came afterwards to our earth, to be our dear 
and blessed Saviour and Redeemer. Bvery day his lameness would 
remind him of that strange night when he wrestled with the angel Jeho- 
vah till the dawning of the day. 

And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, or " The Face of 
God ; " for he said, " I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." 

When the sun had risen, Jacob went on again with his company. 
And he lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Hsau came, and with 
him four hundred men. Then Jacob quickly arranged his party, and 
divided the children to Leah, and to Rachel, and to the two maid-servants. 
And he put the servants and their children first ; and Leah and her 
children after; and Rachel and Joseph last of all. 

And Jacob passed over before them, and bowed himself to> the ground 
seven times, until he came near to his brother. Hsau forgot his anger, and 
ran to meet him ; embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him. 

When the twin-brothers saw each other again after twenty long 
years of absence, all unkindness was forgotten. Hsau had left his home 
intending to fight with Jacob ; but God had touched his heart, and now 
nothing but kind words passed between them. And Hsau lifted up his 
eyes and saw the women and the children ; and he said to Jacob, — 

" Who are these with you ? " 

Jacob answered, " These are the children that God has graciously 
given to your servant." 

Then the maid-servants came near, they and their children, and they 



64 



JACOB AND ESAU. 



bowed themselves. And Leah also came near with her children, and they 
bowed themselves; and after, came Joseph near, and Rachel, and they 
bowed themselves. 

And Esan said, "What is the meaning of all those cattle that I met?" 

Jacob answered and 
said, "They are a present 
to my lord." 

And Esau said, "1 
have enough, my brother; 
keep all the cattle for 
yourself." 

But Jacob said, "No, 
I pray you, if now I have 
found grace in your sight, 
then receive my present 
at my hand ; for I have 
seen your face, and you 
have been pleased with 
me. Take, I pray you, 
my present that is brought 
to you ; because God has 
been gracious to me, and 
because I have enough." 

And Jacob urged 
him so much that L^au 
took it. 

Then Esau said to 
his brother, " Let us now 
take our journey together, 
and I will go on first." 

But Jacob answered, 

MEETING OF JACOB AND ESAU. a My lord> y(m knQW that 

the children are very young, and that I have a great many little lambs 
and kids and calves ; and if we were to drive them too fast, they would 
die. I pray you, my lord, to go on first before your servant ; and I will 
follow softly after, according as the cattle and the children are able to bear, 
until I come unto my lord to Seir." 




JACOB AND ESAU. 



And Esau said, " Let me then leave some of my men with you, to 
protect you." 

But Jacob did not need his brother's men of war to guard him. He 
knew that God had promised to take care of him, and that God's angels 
were about his path; so 
he said to Esau, " Indeed 
I do not need your men; 
only let me find grace in 
the sight of my lord." 

So Esau went back 
to his own home at Seir, and 
Jacob journeyed quietly 
on, till he came to a place 
called Succoth. There he 
pitched his tents, and made 
booths, or sheds, for his 
cattle. But he did not 
stay long there, for he 
wanted to get back to the 
land of promise. So after 
resting for a lktle time, 
he went on again, till he 
came, in peace and safety, 
to the city called Shechem, 
which is in the land of 
Canaan. 

It was not wise of 
Jacob to pitch his tents 
so near to one of the 
wicked cities of Canaan. 
We know what trouble it 
brought upon the family MASSACRE OF THE SHECHEMiTES. 

of just Lot when he went to live in Sodom, because some of his children 
learned the evil ways of the people of the city. And Jacob suffered, too, 
from the same cause. Jacob had a daughter whose name was Dinah ; and 
she went out to see the daughters of the land -to visit them, and to make 
friends with them. 




66 JACOB AND ESAU. 

Dinah was led into wrong-doing by her godless companions and her 
new friends in Shechem. And when her brothers heard about it, they were 
so grieved and angry that two of them took their swords, and went into 
the city, and killed every man that was there ; and they took all the 
women to be slaves. Then they took away all the sheep and o> en and 
asses that belonged to the people of Shechem, and they took away all the 
riches that they found in their houses. 

Jacob was greatly grieved at what his proud and angry sons had 
done ; and he was afraid, too, that the other people of the land would come 
and fight with him, because so many of their family were killed. But 
God kept him from this danger, yet he would not let him remain any 
longer in that place. 

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to every one that was with 
him, " Put away all the strange gods that are among you. And wash 
yourselves, and change your garments ; and let us arise, and go up to 
Beth-el. And I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in 
the day of my distress, and who was with me in the way that I went." 

When Jacob had commanded his household to put away all their 
strange gods, they brought to him all their idols, and all the earrings that 
were in their ears that had on them the figures of the idols. And Jacob 
hid them. He buried them under an oak tree that was near the city, that 
they might never be found again. 

Then Jacob took up his tents, and with all his family and all his 
cattle he journeyed on towards Beth-el. And -God made all the people that 
were in the cities round about them to be in terror and afraid, so that they 
did not dare to pursue after the sons of Jacob. And in this way God kept 
his chosen people safely, till they arrived in peace at Beth-el. 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 

OLD Jacob had many sons, but best of all he loved Joseph, whose 
mother was Rachel. Some of the elder sons acted wickedly and 
caused their father great sorrow, but Joseph was always obedient 
and good, and being much younger than the others, born when Jacob was- 
growing old, and the son of Rachel, who had been always loved so dearly,. 
he was anxiously watched over by his father, who, among other marks of 
love, gave him, when he was about seventeen years old, a handsome coat 
of many colors, in which no doubt he looked very gay. 

This present made his brothers very angry ; they were already 
jealous of him because he was clever, and because his father and mother 
were so proud of him, and, being spiteful, they never spoke kindly to him. 
as brothers should do, but hated him, and made up their minds to do him 
some injury if they could. 

Joseph had strange dreams, and as he was very open and truthful, 
and loved his brothers, although they were so unkind to him, he told them 
what he had dreamed, not thinking it would offend them or make them 
more jealous. Once he dreamed that they were all working together in 
the corn-field, as they often were, binding up the sheaves at harvest-time. 
The sheaf that he bound stood up in the middle and those which his 
brothers bound stood round, and the strange part of the dream was that 
their sheaves bowed to his. 

When he told this dream, his brothers were very angry, and asked 
him if he really supposed that he would ever reign over them and they 
would bow to him. Joseph, perhaps, had no idea that the dream meant 
that, and was sorry that his brothers should think any the worse of him 
because he had told them. But they hated him even more when he told 
them another dream which he had shortly afterwards. In that dream it 
was not sheaves of wheat which bowed to his sheaf, but th? sun, moon, 
and eleven stars seemed to be bowing to himself. 

This dream seemed so strange and wonderful that he told it not only 
to his brothers, but to his father, Jacob, who was displeased, for he thought 
that the sun and moon might mean himself and Joseph's mother, and the 
eleven stars the brothers, for there were eleven besides Joseph, ten older, 
and one, little Benjamin, Rachel's baby. 

67 



68 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 

No doubt Jacob supposed that the lad thought too much of himself, 
aud that made him dream that he was a much greater person than any of 
the rest of the family ; but he could not forget the dream — the Bible says 
he " observed the saying," that is, remembered it, and when Joseph came 
to be a very great man, as we shall see he did, his father, we can well 
believe, thought of the strange dream about the sun and moon and stars. 

All the brothers were shepherds, for flocks of sheep and goats were 
a great part of their father's wealth, and they led the flocks to feed some- 
times a long distance from home. Joseph did not always go with them, 
his father aud mother, perhaps, not liking him to be long away from them; 
but one day, soon after Joseph had had the last dream, his father told him 
to go after his brothers, who had gone with the sheep to a place named 
Shechem, and bring him back word whether they were all well, and the 
sheep properly cared for. 

Joseph went to Shechem, but he could not find his brothers, who, he 
was told, had gone farther away, to Dothan; there he saw them in the 
distance with the sheep, and hastened towards them. They saw him 
coming, and hating him so much as they did, they thought there was a 
chance of doing him some mischief, and as they were so far away from 
home, their father would not know of it. They had not forgotten or for- 
given the dreams in which they had appeared to pay him such respect, 
and when they saw Joseph coming towards them, pleased to see them after 
searching for them so long, instead of welcoming him as a brother, some 
of them said, "Here comes this dreamer; let us kill him. We can put 
him into a pit, and tell our father that a wild beast has eaten him ; then 
we shall have no more of his dreams." 

The elder brother, Reuben, however, was not so wicked as the rest, 
and could not make up his mind to kill his young brother. It is sad to 
think that any of them should have wished to hurt so kind-hearted and 
good a youth as Joseph was, and their own brother, too; but jealousy 
makes people commit very gieat sins. 

Reuben, perhaps, had not courage enough to take Joseph's part 
openly, but he thought that if he could get him away from his cruel 
brothers, he might be able to take him back, secretly but safely, to their 
father Jacob. " Do not let us kill him," he said, " but if we put him into 
the pit in the wilderness, he will never trouble us again, and we shall not 
have shed his blood." 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 69 

The other brothers agreed to this, trying to make themselves believe 
that they should not be guilty of his death, if they did not actually kill 
him with blows, but only left him to starve in a deep pit, from which it 
did not seem possible he could escape. They took the advice of Reuben,, 
and, having first taken off the handsome coat which Jacob had given 
Joseph, threw him into the deep pit, not heeding the cries for mercy of 
their poor young brother. 

Hard-hearted, indeed, they must have been, for they sat down to eat 
near the pit where they had left Joseph to die. They little thought that 
their cruelty would be the means of Joseph becoming a great man and a 
ruler over many, to whom they would some day come to beg for bread; 
but so it was, and he who was left to starve in the pit, while they were 
eating, was saved by the power of God, to give them food. 

In those days, as now, merchants in the Eastern lands used to make 
long journeys, with camels laden with precious articles, from one part of 
the country to another; and while the wicked brothers were resting, there 
came towards them a number of Ishmaelites, with camels bearing spices and 
other things of great value which they had bought in Gilead, and were 
taking to Egypt. Judah, the fourth of Jacob's sons, was greedy as well as 
cruel, and the sight of so much wealth made him think that, perhaps, the 
merchants wanted a slave, and if they would buy Joseph he would be as 
much out of his brothers' way as if he were dead ; for if taken to Egypt, 
there would be little chance of his coming back, and the price given for 
him could be divided among his brethren. 

He, therefore, spoke to the others, except Reuben, who had gone 
away, intending, perhaps, not to return until his brothers had left the 
place, when he could pull Joseph out of the pit and take him home, and 
they agreed to sell the lad, if the merchants would buy him. 

The Ishmaelites, or Midianites, as they are also named, were 
willing to give twenty pieces of silver for Joseph, who was taken from the 
pit and given to them. His brothers did not care whether he would be 
treated well or ill. It might be that the merchants would beat him, for 
slaves have very often been beaten by cruel masters ; perhaps his life would 
be made so wretched that he might almost wish he had been left to die in 
the pit. Cruel Judah and the others had no pity for him, nor for their 
father, who would feel such grief at the loss of his dear son. 

When Reuben came back he found the pit empty, and gave way to 



70 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 

his sorrow, for perhaps he loved his young brother, and being the eldest, 
knew that his father would expect that he would take care of him. All 
Judah and the others thought of was how they could deceive Jacob. To 
do so, they killed a young goat and dipped Joseph's handsome coat in 

the blood. When they 
reached home, they showed 
the coat, torn and stained 
with blood, to their old 
father, and said, " This 
have we found ; we know 
not whether it be thy 
son's coat or no." Jacob 
knew it well. It was the 
coat of many colors which 
his dear child had worn 
when, full of life and hap- 
piness, he had left home 
to follow his brothers. 

The blood, the rents, 
made him think that his 
son had indeed been set 
upon and killed by some 
wild beast, and that he 
should never see his dar- 
ling again. For many 
days he gave himself up 
to his great grief; he had 
no desire to live, and, when* 
those about him tried to 
comfort him, could only 
say, " I will go down into 
JOSEPH sold by HIS BRETHREN. the grave unto my son 

mourning.'' His sons dared not now tell him the truth, that no doubt 
Joseph was yet alive, and might escape from slavery and return ; but they 
pretended to comfort him, while deceiving him. 

The merchants reached Egypt, then a very great country, ruled 
over by a famous king, who bore the title of Pharaoh. They sold their 




JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 71 

spices and the other valuable things with which their camels were loaded, 
and then they thought of selling the lad whom they had bought of the 
men who were keeping the sheep and goats near the pit in the wilderness. 
Rich men in Egypt kept slaves in their houses to wait upon them, and a 
master was soon found for Joseph, who was clever and had pleasing manners. 

He was bought by Potiphar, one of the chief officers of Pharaoh, 
and captain of the guard, a rich and powerful man in the kingdom. He 
found how truthful and industrious Joseph was, and trusted him greatly, 
so that in a short time he made him his steward, or master over the other 
servants, and gave him the care of his house and riches. God had watched 
over and taken care of Joseph; had saved him from a cruel death, and had 
provided for him a new home, where were no envious and cruel brothers, 
hut a kind master who loved and trusted him. And, for his sake, the 
Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian captain, and all that he had in 
the fields. 

No doubt Joseph often thought of his father and of his little brother, 
whom he had left a motherless baby, for Rachel had died soon after the 
child was born, and perhaps he thought the day might come when he 
should again see them ; but he knew that his duty now was to serve his 
master faithfully, and take care of the riches with which he was trusted. 
Doing his duty well, he was happy, and grew up a handsome young man, 
admired and beloved by all. 

Potiphar had a wicked wife, who tried to make Joseph deceive his 
master, and because he would not, in her anger and spite, she made false 
charges against him, and told her husband that he had been acting 
wickedly. Potiphar believed his wife, and, thinking that the young man 
whom he had so greatly trusted had deceived him, he put him in the 
prison where those who had been guilty of great offences were punished. 

It would almost have seemed now that Joseph was ruined ; his master 
no longer trusted him, but had made him a prisoner; he, who a few days 
before had been so powerful in Potiphar's house, who had been looked up 
to by all the servants as the chief man in the place, next to Potiphar him- 
self, was in a wretched prison, with no companions but those who had 
been guilty of great crimes, and some of whom were soon to meet a cruel 
death. But God did not desert Joseph even then. We may be sure the 
young man had not forgotten what he had learned in his father's ' tent, 
that the Lord watched over all who prayed to him, and trusted in him, 



72 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 

and that now, in his great trouble, he prayed earnestly to the God of 
his fathers, who had done so much for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

The Bible tells us that " the Lord was with Joseph, and showed 
him mere)-," and that being so, no doubt the young prisoner was happier 
than lie would have been if he had been Pharaoh himself. As he had at 
first found favor with Potiphar, so now he found a friend in the chief 
jailor of the prison, who gave him the charge of the others who were 
there, and trusted him with the care of the place himself, " looking not to 
anything that was under his hand." And here, again, as in the house of 
Potiphar, the blessing of the Lord made everything that Joseph did to prosper. 

In the prison with Joseph were two of the servants of the king, the 
chief butler and the chief baker, who had been guilty of some offence 
which had made Pharaoh angry. They were put under Joseph's care, and 
soon looked upon him as a friend. One night both these prisoners dreamed,, 
and in the morning they were very sad, for their dreams troubled them. 
They each thought they had been waiting on the king as they used to wait 
on him, and when they woke, we may suppose they felt bitterly how 
changed was their state, no longer happy men in a king's house, but poor 
prisoners in a dungeon. 

Joseph, in his kind way, asked them the cause of their grief, and, 
remembering his own dreams, and the manner in which they had been 
explained, believed that the Lord would enable him to tell these poor men 
what their dreams meant. They were glad to find a friend, and told him 
all. The chief butler had dreamed that he saw a vine with three branches, 
and buds and blossoms which became rich clusters of grapes, which he 
pressed into the cup of the king, who took it into his hand. 

The chief baker had dreamed that he bore on his head three baskets, 
and the top one had baked meats which he intended for the king, but 
birds came and ate them out of the baskets. By the power God had given 
him, Joseph knew what these dreams meant, and he told the chief butler 
that the three branches meant three days, and that within that time he 
would be taken out of prison and restored to his place in Pharaoh's house. 
"And," said Joseph, "think of me when it shall be w T ell with thee." He 
told the baker that the three dishes meant three days, and within three 
days he would be hanged, and birds would eat his flesh. 

Joseph was right in his explanation of the dreams; for three days 
afterwards — the exact time he had mentioned — was Pharaoh's birthday, and 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 73 

he gave a feast to all his servants. The chief butler and the chief baker 
were allowed to be among them, and then they knew, the one to his joy, 
the other to his sorrow, how truly Joseph had told them what was the 
meaning of their dreams. The king gave the chief butler his place again, 
and he stood by his side and filled his cup while he feasted, but the 
chief baker was not forgiven, but was hanged as Joseph had said he would be. 

Perhaps Joseph now thought he had made a good friend at court; 
that the butler, once more a favorite of the king's, would tell him about 
the young man who had been unjustly punished, and ask Pharaoh to 
release him from prison. But the butler forgot his friend who had been 
so kind to him for two years, and no doubt would have forgotten him 
altogether but for a remarkable dream which the king had. He thought 
he was standing by the river — the great river Nile which flows through 
Kgypt, and there came out of it seven fat cows — they are described in the 
Bible as "kine," a name for cows seldom used now — which fed in a meadow. 

Presently seven very thin, hungry-looking cows also came out of 
the river, and ate the fat cows. This was a strange dream, and Pharaoh 
was much troubled to know what it could mean, for he had a strong belief 
that such a dream must be intended to teach him something. 

His uneasiness was made greater by another dream which he had 
afterwards, in which he saw seven good and full ears of corn, and seven 
thin ears, blighted by the east wind. Just as the lean cows had eaten the 
fat cows, so the thin ears of corn seemed to devour the full and ripe ears. 
Pharaoh was greatly distressed; in each dream there was the number seven, 
and in each dream the thin and poor things destroyed and devoured those 
which were fairer and richer. 

There were in Egypt, as there are in many countries, a number of 
men who thought themselves very learned, and who, by their knowledge, 
were able to do things that appeared wonderful and above the common 
power of men. These magicians, as they were called, said they could explain 
secret things, and most of the people, the king as much as the rest,, 
believed in their power. In the morning after the night in which Pharaoh 
had had two such strange and troubling dreams, he sent for these " wise 
men," and, telling them what had occurred, desired them to explain the 
meaning. 

But they could not; they were obliged to say they did not know 
what the cows and the ears of corn meant, and the king was only the 



74 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 



more troubled when he found that none of the wise men of his kingdom 

could help him to understand his dreams. 

The chief butler, who had so long forgotten Joseph, then remembered 

how his own dream and that of his fellow-servant had been explained. 

He knew that, although 
the magicians had failed, 
the young Hebrew in the 
prison would be able to 
tell the king what the 
dreams meant; and, per- 
haps, wishing to gain favor 
with Pharaoh quite as 
much as to serve Joseph, 
he told him of what had 
happened in the prison 
and what a wonderful 
young man was the He- 
brew who was there act- 
ing as a servant to the 
captain of the guard. 

Pharaoh directly 
sent to the prison, and 
ordered the jailer to bring 
Joseph to the palace. The 
prison dress was changed 
for better clothes, so that 
he might be fitter to appear 
before so great a king, and 
then he was taken to Pha- 
raoh, who asked him if it 
was true he could tell him 

JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH'S DREAMS. ^^ ^ ^ stnmge 

dreams meant. Joseph answered modestly that he had not the power 
in himself, but that God would, through him, give " an answer of peace." 
The king then told the dreams ; and Joseph, taught by God, at once 
explained them. He showed to Pharaoh that the two dreams were alike 
in meaning; that the cows and ears of wheat meant years; that there 




JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 75 

would be seven years of plenty in Egypt followed by seven years of famine, 
when all that had been saved in the good years should be eaten up. He 
told Pharaoh this would surely take place, "because the thing is established 
by God." 

He advised the king to choose some wise and careful man, and 
make him the chief man in the kingdom, with power to appoint officers 
who should store up the corn in the years of plenty, and keep it carefully, 
so that it might be ready to feed the people when the seven years of 
famine came. 

Pharaoh and the nobles saw that this was good advice, and, believing 
that Joseph spoke by the Spirit of God, because he spoke so wisely, 
Pharaoh chose him to be the ruler over the people. " Thou shalt be over 
my house, and according unto thy word shall my people be ruled : only in 
the throne will I be greater than thou." 

He took his ring from his hand and gave it to Joseph, had him 
dressed in fine robes, put a chain of gold round his neck, made him ride 
in one of the royal chariots, and bade his people bow to him as he passed. 
Not only did he make him ruler over the land, with full power to do what 
he pleased, but he gave him for a wife the daughter of one of the chief 
priests of Egypt. 

What a change in the life of Joseph, the poor Hebrew lad, sold into 
slavery by his wicked brothers, and only a few hours before a prisoner, 
with no hope of release! Now he was no more Joseph unjustly punished, 
the servant of the captain of a prison, but the most powerful man in 
Egypt, second only in dignity to Pharaoh himself, and named, in Egyptian 
fashion, Zaphnath-paaneah, meaning "one who saves." No doubt the chief 
butler was very humble before him, and hoped that he would forget his 
long forgetfulness of his promise to help him. 

Pharaoh soon found what a wise choice he had made. Joseph was 
now a grown-up man, full of health and activity, wise and able as a ruler. 
The seven years of plenty came exactly as he said they would. There 
was abundance of every kind of food, and Joseph and his officers "gathered 
corn as the sand of the sea ; " so plentiful indeed was it that they left off 
counting the stores they made, for " it was without number." 

Never had been known such a harvest, and wise Joseph collected 
large stores to be ready for the years of famine which he knew were 
coming. He was very great and very happy. We may suppose he often 



76 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 

thought about his old father, woudered if he was still alive, and whether 
his brothers were kiuder thau they used to be, and ever thought of him. 
He had two little sons of his own now, whom, we may be sure, he loved 
as dearly as Jacob had loved himself and little Benjamin. His eldest son 
he named Manasseh, which meant in Hebrew, "not forgotten;" and to the 
second he gave the name Ephraim, another Hebrew word meaning " fruitful," 
for, said he, " God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." 

In the midst of all his state, and powerful as he was, the good and 
wise Joseph remembered his native land and the language which had been 
taught him by Jacob and his mother Rachel. He did not give his children 
Egyptian names, but names which, in the language of his childhood, 
showed that he had not forgotten what he had been, and how thankful he 
was that he had prospered in a strange land. 

When the seven fruitful years were ended there came the seven 
years of famine. No corn grew in all the land, and the people in their 
distress cried to Pharaoh for bread. Had it not been for Joseph, all in 
Egypt would have died of hunger. There would not have been any bread 
for the weak old men and women, nor for the little babies. Pharaoh him- 
self and all his great men might have died, and none of the magicians 
would have been wise enough to show how food could be got. But Joseph 
had stored up so much that now he was able to give food to all. For 
seven years he fed all the people of the great land of Egypt, and had 
enough besides to sell to men w r ho came from other countries, for the 
famine was very grievous in other places. 

Joseph did not give the corn to the people of Egypt, but sold it to 
them. First he took money, then horses and cattle, and then he gave corn 
in exchange for the land owned by the Egyptian people. He removed 
them from the open country to cities, where they could live without the 
cattle he had bought. He did not take the land belonging to the priests, 
but gave them food, and allowed them to keep the lands which had been 
given them by Pharaoh. 

The people had great respect for Joseph's wisdom, but perhaps they 
thought it hard at first that he should take their land and cattle ; but he 
gave the land back, with seed to sow on it, and the}' were to keep for 
themselves four parts of all that was grown, the other being given to 
Pharaoh. That fifth part he took for the king, in payment for food in 
the seven years of famine. 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 77 

While Joseph was thus ruling so wisely over Egypt, his father 
Jacob was alive. In the place where he dwelt the famine was felt, and 
there was but little food for his family and for the cattle, sheep, and goats. 
Jacob heard that in Egypt there was plenty of corn, and that the chief 
man of the country was selling it to any who wished to buy. He therefore 
told his elder sons to go down to Egypt and get food, "that we may live 
and not die." He sent them all except Benjamin, his youngest, Joseph's 
brother, for he could not bear to part with him, and feared the dangers of 
the long journey. The ten brothers reached Egypt and went to Joseph to 
ask him to sell them some corn. 

They could not know that the great Egyptian ruler, so grand and 
powerful, surrounded by high officers, wearing rich robes and riding in a 
fine chariot, was the brother whom they had cast into a pit and sold to 
the merchants many years before ; but he knew them well. There was his 
eldest brother Reuben, who had sometimes been kinder to him than the 
others, and there was Judah who had proposed to kill him, and who had 
taken the lead in selling him. He remembered, too, the dreams of his 
boyhood, and as the ten men bowed before him, he saw how they had 
been fulfilled. 

He would not make himself known to his brothers, but desired to 
hear from them whether his father yet lived. So he spoke roughly, and 
said they were spies, come " to see the nakedness of the land." They 
denied that they were spies, and, to show who they were, they told Joseph 
that they were the sons of a man in the land of Canaan, ten brothers of 
a family of twelve, of whom, said they, " the youngest is this day with 
our father, and one is not." Little did they think when they said " one 
is not," meaning Joseph, of whom they had not heard for so many years, 
and whom perhaps they supposed to be dead, that he was at that moment 
listening to what they said! 

Joseph still pretending to believe that they were spies, put them 
into prison for three days, and told them that, to prove that they were not 
spies, they must bring to him their young brother, and that one of them 
must remain there until Benjamin came. In their trouble — for they feared 
that nothing would make Jacob part with his youngest son whom he loved 
so dearly — they thought of their cruelty to Joseph, of his tears and prayers 
for mercy, and of their hard-heartedness. 

Reuben reproached the others, and reminded them how he had tried 



78 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 



to protect Joseph, and they would not hear him ; therefore, he said, " his 
blood is required," meaning that the Lord was now punishing them for 
their sin. They did not know that Joseph well understood what they said, 
for he had not spoken to them in the Hebrew language, but through an 

interpreter; but he heard 
all, and unable to conceal 
his feelings .when his 
brothers spoke of their 
cruelty in the wilderness, 
he went away and wept 
in secret. 

When he came back 
he again looked sternly, 
and told them that Simeon 
must stay behind, but they 
might buy corn and go 
back to their father, re- 
turning with Benjamin, 
when Simeon should be 
set free. They paid for 
corn and loaded their 
but on their way 




asses, 



back they found that the 
money each of them had 
paid had been put back 
into his sack. Joseph had 
ordered this to be done, 
for he would not take 
money for his brothers' 
food, and in that way re- 
turned good for evil. 

JACOB'S SONS IMPRISONED BY JOSEPH AS SPIES. They ^ & strange 

story to tell their father, who could not be persuaded to consent to Benjamin's 
going to Egypt. In vain Reuben, the eldest, promised that he would take 
care of him ; but Jacob only said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his 
brother is dead, and he is left alone; if mischief befall him by the way in which 
ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 79 

But the food the brothers had brought was soon eaten, and once 
more they and their cattle were almost starving. Again poor, sorrowing 
old Jacob was urged to let Benjamin go, and at last he gave way, with 
tears, praying, "God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he 
may send away your other brother and Benjamin." 

When they reached Egypt Joseph had a feast made, and gave orders 
that they should dine with him. They were much afraid that he might 
think they had stolen the money which was found in their sacks, for they 
did not know that he had caused it to be put there; but he said kindly, 
" Your God, and the God of your fathers hath given you treasure in your 
sacks ; I had your money." 

He asked them about their father; and when he saw Benjamin he 
could not hide his feelings, but went into his own chamber and wept for 
joy that he had again seen his mother's son. Coming back, having 
washed his face so that they might not see the marks of his tears, he had 
food set before them, especially before Benjamin, who had five times as 
much given him as any of the others. 

They left Egypt joyfully enough, for Simeon was with them, and 
Benjamin was safe; but they soon had fresh cause of distress. Joseph 
ordered his steward not only again to put the money in the sacks with 
the food, but to put into Benjamin's sack also the silver cup out of which 
he himself drank, and to follow them, and when they were some distance 
on the road to charge them with taking the cup. He did so, and searched 
the sacks, and there, in Benjamin's sack, was found the cup. 

They were taken back, and then Joseph pretended to be very angry, 
and said the one in whose sack the cup was found must remain behind 
and be his servant, but the rest might go back. The brothers were full 
of trouble; they felt that they dared not return to Jacob without Benjamin; 
and Judah begged Joseph to let him go. He told him how dearly the lad 
was loved by his father, that the loss would kill him, and offered to stay- 
behind in his stead and be a slave in his place. 

While he spoke Joseph's heart was full ; he thought of the poor old 
father sorrowing for the loss of his two darling sons, and he could keep 
his secret no longer. Sending away all his officers and guards, he wept 
aloud, and then told his brothers who he was, how he had been treated, 
'and how he had prospered in the land. " It was not you," he said, " that 
sent me hither, but God." 



80 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 



He bade them return and tell his father to come to him, with all 

his flocks and herds, and children's children, and they should have a home 

in Goshen, a fine land, a part of Egypt. Pharaoh soon heard that Joseph 

had found his brothers, and was well pleased. He gave them wagons and 

treasure, and Joseph sent to 

his father asses laden with 

the good things of Ejjypt. 

What joyful lews 

for Jacob, in the land of 

Canaan ! although he could 

scarcely believe it at first; 

but when his sons told 

him what Joseph had said, 

his spirit revived, and he 

said, " It is enough, Joseph 

my son is yet alive ; I will 

go and see him before I 

die." In a vision, God told 

him to go without fear, for 

the Lord would be with him, 

and would bring him safely 

back. So Jacob, and all that 

were with him, left Beer- 

sheba and went to Goshen, 

where he met Joseph. 

And what a meeting 

it must have been, the fond 

father seeing again his son 

whom he had mourned as 

dead, and the good son 

embracing the father whom 
JOSEPH BECOMING KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN. -^ loyed SQ wdl , p Woll 

saw Jacob and spoke kindly to him, and the old man — lie was then a hundred 
and thirty years of age — blessed the king. Seventeen years longer he lived 
happily in Egypt, and his sons and their children became rich. When he felt 
that death was near, he called Joseph and asked him to promise that he should 
not be buried in Egypt, but that he might be laid in the grave of his fathers. 




JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 



81 



He asked for Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and blessed 
them. Manasseh being the eldest, Joseph led him to the right hand of 
Jacob, but Jacob placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and his 
left on that of Manasseh. Joseph was rather vexed at this; and, thinking his 
father had made a mis- 
take, for his eyes were 
dim with age so that he 
could not see, took his 
hand and tried to place it 
on the head of the elder 
lad, telling Jacob that 
was the first-born. The 
dying man would not 
change his hands, but 
said, " I know it, my son, 
I know it ; he also shall 
become a people, and he 
also shall be great; but 
truly his younger brother 
shall be greater than he." 

When he had 
blessed Ephraim and Ma- 
nasseh, he blessed Joseph, 
whom he had always loved 
so well, and who had 
been such a good son ; 
told him that he had left 
him a larger share of 
his possessions than any 
of his brothers would 
have, and made a pro- 
phecy, Which was fulfilled J AC0B BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH. 
several hundred years afterwards in the time of Moses — "Behold, I die; 
but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your 




fathers.'' Then he called his sons 



round 



him, and prophesied regarding 



them and their children, and having again asked that he might be buried 
in the cave of Machpelah, " gathered up his feet into the bed," and died. 

6 



82 MOSES IN EGYPT. 

He was buried in great state, for not only all his sons, but the great 
officers of Pharaoh's kingdom, followed the body to Canaan, making a great 
mourning, so that the people of the land named the place to which they 
brought the body, Abel mizraim, "the mourning of the Egyptians." 
When the}'' returned, Joseph's brothers feared that he might now remember 
the evil they had done him ; but he forgave them freely, and " spake 
kindly unto them." 

A hundred and ten years old was the great and good Joseph when 
he died. In all the land of Egypt there was none more honored, but, like 
his father, he desired to be buried in his own land, and his last words 
were, " Ye shall carry my bones from hence." Before he died he repeated 
the prophecy which his father Jacob had made, that God would bring 
his people out of Egypt " unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to 
Isaac, and Jacob." 

His body was embalmed, that is, preserved by an art which the 
Egyptians practised, so that it would not decay ; and the Israelites, who had 
so much reason to hold him in remembrance, kept the body throughout 
all their troubles and wanderings for hundreds of years, until they reached 
the Promised Land, where he was buried, as he had desired, in the cave 
of Machpelah, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been buried. 

MOSES IN EGYPT. 

MANY years passed away. Joseph was dead, and all his brothers. 
A new generation of Israelites now lived in Egypt ; they were 
very many ; the country was full of them. A new king was 
reigning, who did not know Joseph ; and he .was very cruel, and hated the 
Israelites, and wished to kill them all. He commanded them to do very 
hard work in the fields, and in making brick ; and their cruel masters beat 
them, and were very unkind to them. 

And did they die when the king gave them all this hard work, 
which made them so weak and tired ? No, because God kept them ; and 
therefore nothing could hurt them ; they grew and multiplied more and 
more. And why did God care for them so much ? Because he had 
promised Abraham, many years before, that his children should be like the 
sand for multitude, and like the stars in the sky, which we cannot count. 
God never forgets his promises, nor his people who love and serve him. 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 83 

But God had promised Jacob to bring bis children home to Canaan y 
and now they were far off from their possessions ; — had not God forgotten 
this promise ? No : we read that he told Abraham, that his children should 
go to a strange country, and be afflicted here till the end of 400 years.. 
God knew the time ; soon the 400 years would be over, then the Israelites, 
would be sent home to their own land again. 

But Pharaoh, the cruel king, did not know God, and he tried again 
and again to destroy the Israelites. He commanded every little Israelitish 
boy that was born, to be thrown into the river and drowned. The poor 
mothers loved their dear children, and cried bitterly about this cruel,, 
wicked law; but the king had no pity, and many of the little boys were 
thrown into the river and drowned. But God loved those children ; and 
when they died he took their souls to be with him in heaven. 

There was a woman of the family of Levi, who loved God, and her 
husband too was a good man. God gave them a little boy. The parents 
loved this dear child, and tried to save him from the cruel king. For 
three months the mother hid her child, that he might not be drowned ; but 
when he grew older and larger she could not hide him any longer. But 
she knew God could keep her little boy, if she could not, and she told all 
her sorrow to him. God can help us when we are in trouble, and 
he can take care of us when our dearest friends cannot ; and he was 
pleased now to help this poor Woman who trusted in him, and to take care 
of her little child. 

The mother gathered some reeds, and platted them into a little 
basket or ark ; and then she took her dear child, and put him into the ark, 
and carried him to the river. Did she throw him in ? No, she laid him 
gently among the high grass and reeds, by the side of the river. 
She could take care of him no more, so she gave him up to God,, 
1 who alone could keep him ; but she left Miriam, her little girl, to watch, 
near her brother. 

Soon she saw some people coming ; who were they ? They were 
ladies ; one was the cruel king's daughter, and the others were her maids ; 
and they walked along by the river, for the princess was going to bathe. 
They did not see Miriam ; she was a little way off, but she could see them, 
and hear all they said. The king's daughter soon saw the ark among the 
reeds, and she sent her maid to fetch it. 

The maid ran and took up the ark, and brought it to her mistress 



84 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



and opened it. Pharaoh's daughter was not like her cruel father; she 
pitied the poor babe, and said, " It is one of the Hebrew children." When 
Miriam heard the kind lady speak, she went up to the princess, and said, 
''Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for thee?" 

Pharaoh's daughter said, 
" Go." Then Miriam ran 
home, and told her mother 
about the kind lady who 
wished to save the dear 
babe ; and asked her mother 
to come and nurse it. 

Miriam and her 
mother went back to Pha- 
raoh's daughter, and the 
kind princess said, " Take 
this child and nurse it for 
me, and I will pay thee 
thy wages." The mother 
brought him home and 
nursed him, and he grew; 
and when he was a little 
older she brought him to 
Pharaoh's daughter again. 
The princess loved the 
child ; and she said, " He 
shall be my son, and I will 
name him Moses (or, drawn 
out), because I drew hirr> 
out of the water." \ 

How kind God i.- 
to those who love and 

THE FINDING OF MOSES. pray tQ him , He heard 

this mother's prayer and saved her child from a cruel death. And God 
loves to save children now. He keeps them when they are in their 
cradles ; he keeps them when they run about, and gives them health, and 
strength and all they have. Jesus says, " It is not the will of your 
Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." 





MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS 




MOSES BRINGING WATER FROM THE ROCK 

Ex. 17 : 5—6 ; Num. 20 : 9—10: Psalm 7S : 15—20 : I Cor. 10:1 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 85 

Pharaoh's daughter loved Moses, and she told the wise men of 
Egypt to teach him all they knew ; for she wished Moses to be wise. The 
Egyptians knew many things and had much wisdom ; but not the best 
wisdom ; they did not know nor worship the true God. They worshipped 
animals ; bulls, and sheep, and dogs, and cats, and crocodiles, and insects. . 
But the Israelites who lived in Egypt remembered the God of their fathers r 
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob ; and the mother of Moses, no doubt, taught: 
him holy things, true wisdom, when he was a very little boy ; and she 
prayed for him that he might be kept from sin, and that he might love 
and serve the Lord. 

And God heard her prayer ; and taught Moses by the Holy Spirit, 
that riches and worldly things could not make him happy, nor save his 
soul : that God alone could keep him from sin ; and that he could be saved 
only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who should at a future time come 
down from heaven and die for sinners. Pharaoh's daughter called him her 
son, and wished to give him great riches ; but Moses did not wish to be 
rich : he chose " rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to 
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." St. John says, "Love not the 
world, neither the things that are in the world." 

If we love pleasure, or riches, or power, or sin, more than we love 
God, we cannot be his children. We must give him all our thoughts, all 
our affections, all our love. Jesus said to his disciples, " Lay not up for 
yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and 
where thieves break through and steal ; but lay up for yourselves treasures 
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves 
do not break through nor steal." 

When Moses was grown up he went to visit his brethren the 
Israelites, who were suffering so much in Egypt. One day he saw an 
Egyptian cruelly beating an Israelite; they were alone, but God's eye was 
upon them. God saw the wicked Egyptian and the poor Israelite, and sent 
Moses to help his suffering brother. Moses ran to the two men and saved 
the Israelite and killed the Egyptian, and hid the body in the sand. 

The next day Moses went out again, and saw two men fighting. 
Were the}?' Egyptians ? No, they were both Israelites. Moses was grieved 
to see them so wicked : for God's people ought to be kind and gentle ; 
brothers ought to love one another. So Moses went to them and tried to 
make peace between them. But the one who did the wrong would not 



86 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



attend to Moses; and said, " Who sent thee to be a judge? Wilt thou kill 

me as thou killedst the Egyptian 3^esterday?" 

When Moses heard this he was very much afraid, for he thought 

the people knew what he had done ; and the king might be angry and 

seek to kill him. So Moses 
fled from Egypt and went 
to Midian and sat down 
by a well. As he sat 
there some young women 
came to the well to water 
their sheep ; and Moses 
helped them and drew 
water for them. When 
they went home they told 
their father how kind Moses 
had been : their father's 
name was Jethro ; and when 
he heard about Moses he 
sent for him, and gave him 
food, and asked him to 
live with him in Midian. 
Moses did so ; and 
some time after he mar- 
ried one of Jethro's daugh- 
ters, who was named Zip- 
porah. Moses had not now 
the riches of Egypt, which 
he had when he lived at 
the king's house ; he was a 
poor man, keeping Jethro's 
sheep in the wilderness. 

MOSES DEFENDING THE DAUGHTERS OF JETHRO. But Moses knew ^ Qod 

would take care of him ; and he loved God better than all the fine things 
in Egypt. 

But did God forget the Israelites, when Moses was gone? No; he 
heard their cry, and remembered his promise to Abraham, and Isaac, and 
Jacob. " God looked upon the children of Israel." We may be sure that 




MOSES IN EGYPT. 



87 



God's eye is always upon us : lie knows all our sorrows, and sees all our 
tears, and, in due time, he will comfort and deliver us, if we trust in him. 

One day, Moses was keeping Jethro's sheep by Mount Horeb. As 
tie sat there quietly and alone, he thought often of his poor brethren 
suffering in Kgypt, and he 
asked God to help and 
deliver them. Moses had 
much faith ; he knew that 
God had power to save 
the Israelites, and he be- 
lieved that he would save 
them at the right time. 
While Moses was think- 
ing of all this, he saw a 
bright light shining near 
him ; and he looked up, 
and saw a bush burning 
with fire. 

But the bush was 
not consumed; it did not 
wither away ; the leaves 
and branches did not turn 
black, and crumble to 
pieces ; and Moses won- 
dered very much, and said, 
u Why is not the bush con- 
sumed ? I will go and see." 
So Moses went to look; 
but when he came near, 
he heard a voice out of 
the bush, saying, " Moses, 
Moses." Who called him? M0SES AT THE burning bush. 

What made the bush burn, and why was it not consumed? The voice 
said again, " The place -where thou standest is holy ground. I am God ; 
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." "Then Moses hid his face; for 
le was afraid to look upon God." 

But the Lord did not come to hurt his servant ; he came to comfort 




88 MOSES IN EGYPT. 

him, and to make him and his poor brethren happy. The Lord said, " I 
have seen my people's sorrow; I have heard their cry.- I am come to send 
thee to Pharaoh : and thou shalt bring my people out of Egypt." But 
Moses was very much afraid, and said, "Who am I that I should go to 
Pharaoh ? " It was not right of Moses to be afraid when God sent him ; 
he ought to have obeyed directly ; but the Lord was very kind and gentle, 
and he spoke again to comfort Moses. 

He said, "I will be with thee; tell the people that I sent thee. If 
the king disobey my command, I have power to punish him; and I will 
send plagues upon Egypt, and bring out my people safely." But Moses 
was still unwilling to go, and said, " Perhaps the people will not believe me." 

The Lord then told him to throw his rod upon the ground. Moses 
obeyed, and it became a serpent ; and he fled from it for fear. But the 
Lord said, "Take it by the tail;" and Moses caught it, and it did not 
bite nor hurt him, but became a rod again in his hand directly. Then God 
told Moses to put his hand into his bosom. Moses obeyed, and his hand 
became covered with leprosy ; but God told him to put his hand again into 
his bosom, and in a moment it was well. Then God told him to go and 
show these wonders to the people ; that they might believe that he had 
sent him. 

Was Moses willing to go to Egypt now ? No ; he was still afraid. 
He said, " Lord, I cannot speak well ; my tongue is slow, and I have no 
words." But the Lord said, "Who hath made man's mouth ? Who maketh. 
the deaf, and the dumb, and the seeing, and the blind? Have not I, the 
Lord ? Go ; obey m}^ command, and I will teach thee what thou shalt say." 

But still Moses wished not to go. Then the Lord began to be 
angry ; for though he is very kind and patient with his people, yet he 
does not like them to disobey his commands, nor to obey slowly and unwil- 
lingly. But the Lord said to Moses, " Aaron thy brother may go with 
thee ; he can speak well ; and I will teach you both what you shall do." 
Then Moses obeyed : he was timid and fearful in himself, but the Lord 
gave him strength and courage ; so he went home, and took leave of Jethro, 
and called his wife Zipporah, and his two sons, and put them upon an ass r 
and returned to Egypt. 

Then God said to Aaron, who was living in Egypt, " Go and meet 
Moses." So Aaron went into the wilderness, and soon saw Moses and his 
family coming; and he ran and kissed him. Moses had much to tell 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



8* 



Aaron about the wonders God had shown him ; and he asked Aaron to go 
with him to the king, and command him to send away the Israelites. 
Aaron was willing to go; so they both went, and called the elders of the 
Israelites, and told them that God had seen their sorrows, and was going 
to deliver them. Then 
they bowed down their 
heads, and worshipped. 

Moses and Aaron 
went together to the king, 
another Pharaoh, who was 
now reigning in Egypt, 
and said, " The Lord com- 
mands thee to let the 
Israelites go." But Pha- 
raoh answered, " I do not 
know the Lord; and I will 
not let them go." Then 
the king told the Israel- 
ites' masters to give them 
more work, and the poor 
people were not able to 
finish their hard tasks in 
making brick ; and their 
cruel masters beat them, 
and said, " You are idle ; 
fulfil your work, your 
daily tasks." 

The Israelites cried 
to Moses, and Moses went 
to God, and told him all 
his sorrow. God knew all ; 
his eye was up~u them, THE ROD OF AAR0N changed into a serpent. 
and very soon "b^ would deliver them, and he said, " I have heard their 
groaning, I remember my covenant with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
and I will bring my people to Canaan as I have promised." 

Moses wa* now eighty years old; but he was not weak and feeble, 
as many old m»*u are ; he was strong and powerful. God made him so, 




90 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



because there was much for Moses to do before he died. It is God who gives 
us all our health aud strength ; and if we are well and strong we must not 
be idle. There is much for us all to do ; and we must use our health and 
strength for God. " Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." 

God now gave Mo- 
ses and Aaron power to 
do wonders, and to work 
miracles before Pharaoh. 
They went to the king; 
and Aaron threw down 
his rod before him, and 
it became a serpent. But 
Pharaoh called his wise 
men, and told them to 
try to do the same ; and 
they did so with their 
enchantments. Had they 
power to work miracles ? 
No; perhaps they might 
have learned to tame 
serpents, so as to make 
them look like rods in 
their hands; and then 
they might have thrown 
them down, as Aaron did, 
and thus pretended to 
work a miracle. 

But God made 
Aaron's rod swallow up 
their rods. Pharaoh did 
not care for this, nor did 
he obey the command to 
let Israel go ; and then God said, he would punish Pharaoh, by turning his 
river into blood. 

The river Nile is very useful in Egypt ; no rain falls there to water 
the ground; but in the summer, the river rises, and overflows the country, 
and makes the land soft, and then the people sow their seed, and the grass 




THE WATERS OF EGYPT CHANGED TO BEOOD. 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



91 



and corn soon spring up. Did Pharaoh and the Egyptians thank God, 
who gave them the Nile to water their land? No, the Egyptians forgot 
God; they made their river a god, and worshipped it, and sacrificed to it. 
But the Nile had no power to make the country fruitful; it was God who 
made it, -and who swelled 
up its waters, and watered 
the land; and now he 
determined to punish and 
humble the Egyptians, 
and to turn their river- 
god into blood. 

God did as he said. 
He told Moses to go and 
stretch his rod over the 
waters; and as soon as he 
did so, all became blood. 
The ponds, and the water 
in the vessels, and the 
beautiful river, all were 
blood. The fish died ; the 
Egyptians could not drink 
the water of the river ; and 
their river-god could not 
help them now. Did they 
repent and ask God to for- 
give them ? No, and there- 
fore God sent a new pun- 
ishment upon them. 

And seven days 
were fulfilled, after that 
the Lord had smitten the 
river. And the Lord spake THE PI -AGUE of fr ogs. 

unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, 
Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let 
them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs : and the river shall 
bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, 
and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the houses of thy 




92 MOSES IN EGYPT. 

servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy knead- 
ing-troughs : and the frogs shall come up both on thee and upon thy people, 
and upon all thy servants. 

And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth 
thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the r 
ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron 
stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt ; and the frogs came up, 
and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their 
enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. 

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the 
Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people ; 
and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord. 
And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me ; when shall I intreat for 
thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from 
thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only ? And he 
said, To-morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou 
mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God. 

And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and 
from thy servants, and from thy people ; they shall remain in the river 
only. And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh : And Moses cried 
unto the Lord because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. 
And the Lord did according to the word of Moses ; and the frogs died out 
of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered 
them together upon heaps : and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw 
that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto 
them; as the Lord had said. 

And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy 
rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout 
all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand 
with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, 
and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land 
of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring 
forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon 
beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: 
and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as 
the Lord had said. 

And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and 




RUTH GLEANING IN THE FIELDS OF BOAZ 




THE SCRIBES READING THE CHRONICLES TO AHASUERUS 

Ezra 4 : 15 : Ezra fi : 1— 2 ; Esther 6:1; Daniel 9 : 2 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



93 



stand before Pharaoh ; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, 
Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, 
if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon 
thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: 
and the houses of the 
Egyptians shall be full 
of swarms of flies, and 
also the ground whereon 
they are. And I will sever 
in that day the land of 
Goshen, in which my peo- 
ple dwell, that no swarms 
of flies shall be there: to 
the end thou mayest know 
that I am the Lord in the 
midst of the earth. And 
I will put a division be- 
tween my people and thy 
people : to-morrow shall 
this sign be. 

And the Lord did 
so ; and there came a griev- 
ous swarm of flies into the 
house of Pharaoh, and into 
"his servants' houses, and 
into all the land of Egypt : 
the land was corrupted by 
reason of the swarm of 
flies. And Pharaoh called 
for Moses and for Aaron, 
and said, Go ye, sacrifice 
to your God in the land. THE PLAGUE OF LICE. 

And Moses said, It is not meet so to do ; for we shall sacrifice the abomina- 
tion of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the 
abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone 
us ? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to 
the Lord our God, as he shall command us. And Pharaoh said, I will let 




94 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness ; omy 
ye shall not go very far away : intreat for rue. 

And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the 
Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, 

and from his people, to- 
morrow : but let not Pha- , 
raoh deal deceitfully any 
more in not letting the 
people go to sacrifice to 
the Lord. And Moses 
went out from Pharaoh, 
and in treated the Lord. 
And the Lord did accord- 
ing to the word of Moses ; 
and he removed the swarms 
of flies from Pharaoh, from 
his servants, and from his 
people ; there remained 
not one. And Pharaoh 
hardened his heart at this 
time also, neither would 
he let the people go. 

Then the Lord said 
unto Moses, Go in unto 
Pharaoh, and tell him, 
Thus saith the Lord God 
of the Hebrews, Let my 
people go, that they may 
serve me. For if thou 
refuse to let them go, and 
wilt hold them still, be- 
hold, the hand of the Lord 
is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, 
upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep : there shall be a very 
grievous plague. And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel 
and the cattle of Egypt : and there shall nothing die of all that is the 
thildren's of Israel. 




THE PLAGUE OF FLIES. 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



95 



And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, To-morrow the Lord 
shall do this thing in the land. And the Lord did that thing on the 
morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died ; but of the cattle of the children 
of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one 
of the cattle of the Israel- 
ites dead. And the heart 
of Pharaoh was hardened, 
and he did not let the 
people go. 

And the Lord said 
unto Moses and unto 
Aaron, Take to you hand- 
fuls of ashes of the fur- 
nace, and let Moses 
sprinkle it toward the 
heaven in the sight of 
Pharaoh. And it shall 
become small dust in all 
the land of Egypt and 
shall be a boil breaking 
forth with blains upon 
man, and upon beast, 
throughout all the land 
of Egypt. And they 
took ashes of the fur- 
nace, and stood before 
Pharaoh ; and Moses 
sprinkled it up toward 
heaven : and it became 
a boil, breaking forthwith 
blains upon man and 
upon beast. And the the plague of murrain. 

magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils ; for the boil 
was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the Lord 
hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them. 

And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and 
stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the 




96 



MOSKS IN EGYPT. 



Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this 
time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and 
upon thy people ; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in 
all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand that I may smite thee 

and thy people with pes- 
tilence ; and thou shalt 
be cut off from the earth. 
And in very deed for this 
cause have I raised thee 
up, for to show in thee 
my power; and that my 
name may be declared 
throughout all the earth. 
As yet exaltest thou thy- 
self against my people, that 
thou wilt not let them go. 
And the Lord said 
unto Moses, Stretch forth 
thine hand toward heaven, 
that there may be hail in 
all the land of Egypt, 
upon man, and upon beast, 
and upon every herb of the 
field, throughout the land 
of Egypt. And Moses 
stretched forth his rod to- 
ward heaven : and the Lord 
sent thunder and hail, and 
the fire ran along the 
ground, and the Lord 
rained hail upon the land 

THE PLAGUE OF BOILS AND BLAINS. of Egypt Sq there wag 

hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like 
it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote 
throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; 
and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. 
Onlv in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. 




MOSES IN EGYPT. 



97 



And Pharaoh sent and. called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto 
them, I have sinned this time : the Lord is righteous, and I and my people 
are wicked. Intreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more 
mighty thunderings and hail ; and I will let yon go, and ye shall stay no 
longer. And Moses said 
unto him, As soon as I 
am gone out of the city 
I will spread abroad my 
hands unto the Lord and 
the thunder shall cease, 
neither shall there be any 
more hail, that thou may- 
est know how that the 
earth is the Lord's. 

And the Lord said 
unto Moses, Go in unto 
Pharaoh : for I have hard- 
ened his heart, and the 
heart of his servants, that 
I might shew these my 
signs before him : and that 
thou mayest tell in the 
ears cf thy son, and of 
thy son's son, what things 
I have wrought in Egypt, 
and my signs which I have 
done among them ; that 
ye may know how that I 
am the Lord. And Moses 
and Aaron came in unto 
Pharaoh, and said unto 
him, Thus saith the Lord 
God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before 
me ? Let my people go, that they may serve me. 

Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold to-morrow will I 
bring the locusts into thy coast : and they shall cover the face of the earth, 
that one cannot be able to see the earth : and they shall eat the residue 
7 




THE PLAGUE OF HAIL. 



98 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



of that which is escaped, which remaiueth unto you from the hail, and 
shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the .field : and they shall 
fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all 
the Egyptians ; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have 

seen, since the day that 
they were upon the earth 
unto this day. And he 
turned himself and went 
out from Pharaoh. 

And the Lord said 
unto Moses, Stretch out* 
thine hand over the land 
of Egypt for the locusts, 
that they may come up 
upon the land of Egypt 
and eat every herb of the 
land, even all that the 
hail hath left. And Moses 
stretched forth his rod 
over the land of Egypt 
and the Lord brought an 
east wind upon the laud 
all that day and all that, 
night ; and when it was 
morning the east wind 
brought the locusts. 

And the locusts 
went up over all the land 
of Egypt, and rested in 
all the coasts of Egypt : 
very grievous were they: 
before them there were 
no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they 
covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened ; and 
they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which 
the hail had left ; and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or 
in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 




THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS. 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 99 

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste ; and he said, I 
nave sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now therefore 
forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, 
that he may take away from me this death only. And he went out from 
Pharaoh and intreated the Lord. And the Lord turned a mighty strong 
west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea; 
there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. But Pharaoh 
would not let Israel go. 

And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward 
heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness 
which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven ; 
and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days ; they 
saw not one another, neither rose any from his placs for three days : but 
all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 

And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; 
only let your flocks and your herds be stayed ; let your little ones also go 
with you. And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt- 
offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also 
shall go with us ; there shall not an hoof be left behind ; for thereof must 
we take to serve the Lord our God ; and we know not with what we must 
serve the Lord, until we come thither. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's 
heart, and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get 
thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more ; for in that 
day thou seest my face thou shalt die. And Moses said, I will see thy 
face again no more. 

And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more 
upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: 
when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. 
Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his 
neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of 
gold. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. 
Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight 
of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. 

And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go 
out into the midst of Egypt: and all the first-born in the land of Egypt 
shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even 
unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill ; and all the 



100 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



first-born of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land 
of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. 
But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, 
against man or beast ; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a differ- 

p ence between the Egyptians 
and Israel. And all these 
thy servants shall come 
down unto me, and bow 
down themselves unto me, 
saying, Get thee out, and 
all the people that follow 
thee : and after that I will 
go out. And he went out 
from Pharaoh in a great 
anger. And the Lord said 
unto Moses, Pharaoh shall 
not hearken unto you ; that 
my wonders may be mul- 
tiplied in the land of Egypt. 
And this day shall 
be unto you for a memo- 
rial; and ye shall keep it 
a feast to the Lord through- 
out your generations ; ye 
shall keep it a feast by an 
ordinance for ever. Seven 
days shall ye eat unleav- 
ened bread ; even the first 
day ye shall put away 
leaven out of your houses: 
for whosoever eateth leav- 

DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN OF EGYPT. ened bread from ^ firsfc 

day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in 
the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day 
there shall be an holy convocation to you ; no manner of work shall be 
done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be 
done of you. 





JOSEPH CAST INTO THK PIT 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



101 



And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread ; for in this self- 
same day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt : therefore 
shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In 
the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat 
unleavened bread, until the 
one and twentieth day of 
the month at even. Seven 
days shall there be no 
leaven found in your 
houses ; for whosoever eat- 
eth that which is leavened, 
even that soul shall be 
cut off from the congrega- 
tion of Israel, whether he 
be a stranger, or born in 
the land. Ye shall eat 
nothing leavened ; in all 
your habitations shall ye 
eat unleavened bread. 

Then Moses called 
for all the elders of Israel, 
and said unto them, Draw 
out and take you a lamb 
according to your families, 
and kill the passover. And 
ye shall take a bunch of 
hyssop, and dip it in the 
blood that is in the basin, 
and strike the top beam 
and the two side posts with 
the blood that is in the 
basin ; and none of you shall 
go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass 
through to smite the Egyptians ; and when he seeth the blood upon the 
lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and 
will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 

And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the first- 




THE FIRST PASSOVER. 



102 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his 
throne nnto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon ; and all 
the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh rose np in the night, he, and all his 
servants, and all the Egyptians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt ; for 

there was not a house where 
there was not one dead. 

And he called for 
Moses and Aaron by night, 
and said, Rise up, and get 
you forth from among my 
people, both ye and the 
children of Israel ; and go, 
serve the Lord as ye have 
said. Also take your flocks 
and your herds, as ye have 
said, and be gone ; and 
bless me also. 

When Moses and 
the Israelites left Egypt 
in so much haste, they did 
not forget Joseph's dying 
command, but carried his 
bones with them. Then 
they went on, and came to 
the Red Sea. But when 
Pharaoh heard they were 
gone, he commanded his 
servants to bring his char- 
iots, and his horses ; and 
he went with a great army 
to bring the people back 
again. He overtook them 
by the sea ; they were all resting in their tents ; a pillar of cloud was before 
them ; God gave them this pillar to show them the road by day ; and by 
night, he put before them a pillar of fire to give them light. They were 
safe under God's keeping. 

But soon they looked up ; and what did they see ? Pharaoh and 




THE ISRAELITES DEPARTING FROM EGYPT. 



MOSES IN EGYPT. 



103 



the Egyptians coming after them very quickly, with their chariots and 
horses. The Israelites cried to the Lord, and said to Moses, " Why hast 
thou brought us away from Egypt? We shall die, now, here in this 
wilderness ! " They forgot that God was still with them ; but Moses said, 
"Fear not; be still, and 
the Lord will fight for you." 

Then the Lord com- 
manded the people to go 
on. But where could they 
go ? The great sea was 
before them, and there was 
no bridge to go over, and 
no ships to carry them 
across. What could they 
do ? God knew ; he could 
€nd a way for them to 
escape. The pillar which 
was before them, moved 
behind; it stood now be- 
tween the Israelites and 
the Egyptians ; but the side 
next the Israelites was 
bright, to give them light; 
and the side next the 
Egyptians was dark and 
cloudy, so that they could 
not see to do the Israelites 
any hurt all that night. 

Then God told Moses 
to stretch his rod over the 
sea ; and the Lord sent a 
very strong wind to blow brack's host overwhelmed in the sea. 

back the water ; and in the morning there was a dry road through the sea, and 
the waters stood like a wall on each side. Who did this wonder? Not Moses, 
not his rod, not the strong wind alone ; — it was God, God who has power to do all 
things. The Israelites walked through the sea, all of them, on dry ground ; not 
one was drowned, for God held back the waters till they were all gone over safely. 




104 MOSES IN EGYPT. 

Then the Egyptians tried to pursue them, and went in after them; 
but God looked angrily at them through the pillar, and made them fear,, 
and took off the wheels of their chariots. And then he told Moses to 
stretch his rod over the sea, and the waters came back again upon Pharaoh, 
and his army, and his servants, and chariots, and horses, and they were 
all drowned. 

In the morning, the Israelites saw all their enemies lying dead upon 
the sea-shore. The Egyptians could hurt them no more now ; their bodies 
were cold and dead, and their souls were gone to be judged by God, whom 
they had rebelled against and disbelieved. " It is a fearful thing to fall 
into the hands of the living God." 

The Israelites thanked God, and sang praises to him ; and Miriam 
and the women prayed and danced for joy. Then they went on into the 
wilderness of Shur. They wandered there three days, and found no water. 
At last they came to Marah, and there was water; but the water was 
bitter, and they could not drink it. Then the people were discontented 
again, and said to Moses, "What shall we drink?" Was this right? No; 
the Israelites were discontented and unbelieving people. They knew God 
had power to give them water if he pleased; and they knew that they 
ought to be patient if he gave them none; he had done many wonderful 
things for them, and he could do as many more; but they forgot his 
kindness, and were impatient, and angry, and discontented. 

Moses was sorry to find the people doing wrong again so soon. He 
could not comfort them ; he could not make the water good ; but he 
remembered who could, and he cried to the Lord. And did God attend to 
Moses? Yes; he did not forget his distressed people. Moses "cried unto 
the Lord ; and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into 
the waters, the waters were made sweet." 

Was there any wonderful power in this tree? No, the power was 
in God; the tree could do no good without him. God taught his people 
how great his power is, because he wished them to trust in him, and to 
feel safe and happy in his keeping. We ought all to trust him. He 
knows what is best for us; and, if we are his people, we are safe in all 
places, and may have comfort in all our sorrows. We can all do some- 
thing towards sweetening the lives of the poor, the troubled, and the 
wretched. Kind words and deeds are the tree that will make the bitter 
waters sweet; and the young can do this as well as the old. 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

"X "^ T~HEN God sweetened the bitter waters of Marah, he spoke kindly 
\ \ to the Israelites, and said, "If you will obey me, and do what 
is right, then I will be with you, and keep, and bless, and 
strengthen you ; and I will not send any of those diseases and plagues 
upon you, which I sent upon the Egyptians." Then they were comforted, 
and went on to Elim, and there they found twelve wells of water, and 
many date palm trees ; and they pitched their tents there. They were very 
glad to see these trees. The fruit is very pleasant and refreshing to poor 
tired wanderers in the wilderness; the trees on which it grows can live in 
these hot places, and water is always found near the date trees. 

When the Israelites went away from Elim, they came into another 
wilderness, the Desert of Sin. Then they began to be discontented ; and 
they murmured again, and said, " We shall die of hunger, for there is no 
food here. When we were in Egypt, we had plenty ; but now, we have 
nothing ; why did you bring us here ? " How unthankful these people 
were ! God had delivered them from their cruel masters, and brought 
them safely through the sea ; and he had given them sweet water to drink, 
and promised always to take care of them ; and yet they would not trust him. 

Moses went again to God, and told him all his sorrows, and all that 
the people said. Then God answered, " I have heard their murmurings • 
go, and tell them, I will give them flesh to-night to eat ; and in the morn- 
ing I will give them bread." Where could they find flesh? Must they 
kill all their flocks and herds ? No ; God sent them some birds called 
quails, which came in great numbers, and covered the tents ; and the 
Israelites caught, and killed, and ate them in the evening. 

And was this all God gave them ? No ; in the morning, when the 
dew was gone, the Israelites saw the ground covered with a little round 
thing, white like frost. It was new to all the people, and they came out 
and looked, and wondered, and asked, "What is it?" Nobody knew; but 
Moses said, " This is the bread God has given you to eat." How wonderful 
was this ! God sent this sweet bread to feed his people in the wilderness, 
where there was no corn for them to eat. 

The Israelites called the new food which God sent, manna; it was 
sweet and nice, like honey. Moses said, " You must gather the manna 

105 



106 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



fresh every morning. God promises to send it every day ; but you must 
not keep it till the next morning. Every one of you must gather an omer 
full , but the day before the Sabbath, you must gather two omers full, and 
keep one of them for the Sabbath ; for God will send no manna on the 

Sabbath day." Some of the 
people would not believe 
Moses ; they determined 
to try and keep the manna 
till the morrow, and see 
if it would be good. 

But, in the morn- 
ing, when the people looked 
at the manna they had 
kept, they found that it 
was full of worms, and 
smelt badly ; they could 
not eat it, but threw it 
away. And did not the 
manna saved for the Sab- 
bath become bad ? No ; 
because God kept it good ; 
he did not wish his Holy 
Sabbath to be broken, and 
he had power to keep the 
manna fresh and sweet if 
he pleased. But there were 
some more disobedient peo- 
ple who would not believe 
Moses, nor attend to God's 
command. They went out 
on the Sabbath day to 
gather manna. Did they 
find it? No: God did not send any, and they went home again empty; 
and God was angry with them for their disobedience. 

The Sabbath is not a day on which we ought to do any work. It 
is God's day ; he kindly gave it to us, that we might have more time to 
\ttend to our souls, and to think of God, and death, and judgment, and 




THE ISRAELITES GATHERING MANNA. 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 107 

heaven, and hell. We should not think much of our food on this holy 
day ; we should prepare it the day before, as God told the Israelites to do. 
We have our food from God, as they had. It is not rained down from 
heaven, because God does not now work miracles ; and we live in a country 
where there is plenty of corn to make bread. 

But God only sends down rain from heaven to make the corn grow, 
and he makes the sun shine to ripen it. He alone can cause the grass to 
spring up, and give food to the beasts of the field. We must pray, "Give 
us day b}^ day our daily bread." And when we eat it, we must thank 
God who gave it, and not wish for more nor better food than he sends. 

The Israelites now went on, through the wilderness of Sin, to Rep- 
hidim. How did they know the way ? God went before them in the pillar 
of cloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night. When the pillar stopped, 
they stopped ; and when the pillar moved, they moved, and followed it 
wherever it went. While we live, we are like the Israelites, travelling in 
the wilderness ; but, if we are God's people, we need not fear, because he 
is always by us. He does not go before us in a pillar of cloud and fire ; 
but his hand is always over us to guide and keep us, and his eye sees us 
wherever we are. We must pray God to lead us in the right way, in 
the way to heaven. 

There was no water at Rephidim ; and the people murmured again, 
and were very angry with Moses, and very unthankful to God. Then 
Moses cried to God, and he heard the prayer. God told him to go to 
Mount Horeb, and strike the rock ; and he promised that then water 
should come out. Moses obeyed God, and struck the rock, and water came 
out. It was God's power that did this miracle; not Moses, nor the rod, but 
God alone, could bring water out of the rock. 

There were some wicked people, who lived not far from this wilder- 
ness, called Amalekites, and now they came to fight with Israel, in Rephi- 
dim. Moses called Joshua his servant, and said to him, " Choose men, 
and go and fight with the Amalekites ; and I will go up to the top of the 
mountain, with the rod of God in my hand." So Joshua and the soldiers 
went to fight ; and Moses and Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the 
hill. What did they do there ? Moses held up his hand, with the rod of 
God in it, and prayed God to give the Israelites power to conquer their 
enemies. God heard Moses pray, and put strength into the soldiers' hands, 
and gave them power over their enemies. 



108 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



But Moses was tired of holding up his hands ; they were heavy, and 
fell down, and then the Amalekites became strong, and the Israelites 
became weak. But Aaron and Hur took a large stone, and put it under 
Moses, and he sat upon it ; and Aaron and Hur held up his hands all the 

day till the sun went down. 
And God blessed the Israel- 
itish soldiers ; they con- 
quered their enemies, and 
drove all the wicked Ama- 
lekites away. 

The Israelites now 
came into the wilderness 
of Sinai, and pitched their 
tents before the mountain. 
Moses went up into the 
mountain, and God talked 
to him there. God said, 
" Go, and tell the Israelites 
what wonderful things I 
have done for them, in 
saving them from the Egyp- 
tians, and bringing them 
here. They are my own 
people; and if they will love 
and obey me, I will keep 
them always, and give them 
all they want; and they shall 
be my children, and I will 
be their Father." Moses 
told the people what God 

said, and they all answered, 
VICTORY OF THE ISRAELITES OVER AMALEK. u y^ Q w ^j ^ ^ T^j.^" 

Then God said again to Moses, " Go, and tell the people to make 
themselves ready for the third day : for then I will come down upon the 
mountain to speak to them. They shall not go up, nor touch the moun- 
tain ; whoever touches it shall be put to death. When the trumpet sounds, 
they shall come up to the mount." The people obeyed; they all washed 





THE FINDING OF MOSES 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 109 

their clothes, and made themselves ready for the third day. Why? 
Because God was coming, the holy God ; the people were to remember 
how great and wonderful he is, and how weak and sinful they were; and 
to come before God with reverence. 

In the morning, the Israelites looked towards the mountain ; a thick 
black cloud was over it ; and fire, and smoke, and lightning came out of 
the mountain, and all the ground shook. The people were very much 
frightened; but the trumpet sounded, and then Moses brought them all 
out, and made them stand round the mountain. 

The trumpet sounded louder and louder, and Moses spoke, and God's 
voice answered him. Then the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, and 
called Moses ; and Moses went up. God said, " Tell the people again, not 
to touch the mountain ; but thou shalt come up, and Aaron with thee." 
Then Moses went down, and told them. 

It was a very fearful thing to see the great mountain smoking, and 
the fire and lightning coming out of the thick black darkness. Why was 
it so fearful ? Because God was there ; the holy, powerful God ; God who 
cannot look upon sin, and who has power to punish all those who disobey 
him. " Our God is a consuming fire." The Israelites trembled before him; 
and we must tremble too, if we have not been washed from our sins in the 
blood of Jesus. We have no power to escape ; we cannot save ourselves from 
the anger of a holy God ; but if we believe in Jesus, we are safe. We need not 
fear then, because God promises to accept all those who come to Jesus alone 
for salvation. " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 

When the Israelites saw the lightning, and the blackness of the 
mountain, and heard the thunders, and the loud trumpet, they were very 
much afraid, and moved away from the mountain, and stood afar off. 
They said to Moses, " Speak thou to us, and we will hear ; but let not 
God speak to us, lest we die." But Moses said, "Fear not; God is come 
to prove you, and to tell 3'ou what you ought to do, that you may learn 
to know and serve him aright, that his blessing may be upon you." We 
are all poor, helpless sinners before God ; our own obedience cannot take 
us to heaven, for we have disobeyed God many times. How then can we 
go to heaven? Jesus Christ alone can take us there. He bore the pun- 
ishment of our sins upon the cross, and his blood can cleanse us : he was 
perfectly holy, he kept all the commandments ; and, if we believe in him, 
God will accept us for his righteousness' sake. 



110 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

But we must try to be like Jesus ; we must wish and strive to be 
holy. We must ask him for all these things, that -we may be made his 
own dear children by faith in Christ Jesus. And then we need not fear; 
because God has promised to save all who believe ; and we shall not 
tremble at the day of judgment, when we stand before his throne, because, 
if our sins have all been washed away in Jesus' blood, and our hearts 
made new and clean by the Holy Spirit, we shall hear our Saviour say, 
" Come, ye blessed ; " and we shall be taken up to heaven, away from sin 
and sorrow for ever. 

When God had finished speaking, Moses came and told the people 
all he had said, and they answered, " We will obey the Lord ; we will do 
what he commands us." Then Moses wrote all the words of God : and 
the Israelites offered sacrifices unto the Lord. Moses read the book of the 
law to the people, and they said again, " All that the Lord hath said, we 
will do, and be obedient." Then Moses and Aaron, and some of the 
elders of Israel, went up towards the mountain, and there they saw an 
appearance of the bright glory of God; but this could not hurt them, 
because God kept them safely ; and they stayed there before him, and did 
eat and drink. Then God told Moses alone to come up to him, to receive 
the tables of stone upon which God had written the Ten Commandments. 

Moses waited six days upon the mountain, with Joshua his servant ; 
and then God called to him out of the cloud, and Moses went up, and was 
there in the mount forty days and forty nights. Moses was not afraid to 
be with God, because he was his father and his friend. We have no need 
to fear, when our sins are forgiven, and when we are at peace with God 
through Jesus Christ. 

What did God say to Moses when he was in the mountain ? He 
gave him many directions about the tabernacle which the Israelites were 
to make, where God was to be worshipped ; and about the sacrifices, and 
priests, and the holy things which we shall soon read about ; and then he 
gave Moses the two tables of stone, written with the finger of God. The 
people waited a long time for Moses, and wondered he did not come down 
to them, and then they began to be tired and impatient, and they went to 
Aaron and said, " Moses is gone away ; we do not know what is become 
of him ; make gods for us, and they shall go before us." 

Did Aaron tell them how wicked and disobedient they were ? No ; 
Aaron sinned too, and let the people sin. He told them to give him their 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



Ill 



golden earrings which were in their ears ; so they brought them to Aaron, 
and he made them into a golden calf. Then the people said, " These be 
the gods who brought us up from Egypt;" and Aaron built an altar, and 
offered sacrifices to the calf, and made a feast ; and the people ate and 
drank, and played before 
the image. 

The}r had soon for- 
gotten the holy command 
of God, which he spoke to 
them from the mount, 
"Thou shalt not make any 
graven image." They had 
forgotten their own promise, 
which they made to Moses, 
" We will obey the Lord." 
They had forgotten to ask 
God's help to teach them 
to serve him. But did not 
God see ? Was not he 
angry ? Yes ; he saw all ; 
for his eyes are in every 
place ; he knew when he 
was talking to his ser- 
vant Moses what his dis- 
obedient people were doing; 
and he said to Moses, 
"Go down; the people have 
forgotten me, and they 
have made a golden calf, 
and worship it. I am 
angry with these disobe- 
dient people; I will de- worshipping the golden calf. 

stroy them ; but I will keep thee, and make of thee a great nation." 
But Moses prayed God to forgive these sinful people, and to 
remember his servants Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and his promises to 
them. Then God heard Moses' prayer, and did not destroy them all. 

So Moses took the tables in his hands and went down again to> 




112 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

Joshua. Joshua said, "There is a noise in the camp;" but he did not 
know what the noise was. Moses listened, and said, ," It is a singing that 
I hear;" and when they came near, they saw the golden calf, and the 
people playing, and dancing, and singing before it. Then Moses was 
angry, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them under the 
mountain. Why was he angry ? To see that these people had so soon 
forgotten their kind God, and their own promise to love and serve him. 

They were helpless sinners, and we are so too. When we trust to 
our own strength and goodness, and forget to ask for the Holy Spirit to 
help and teach us, we are as forgetful of God, as unthankful, and as 
wicked as these Israelites were. Let us pray to God every day to keep us 
from sin, and to enable us to live always in his fear and love. 

Then the Lord told Moses to come up again into the mountain, and 
to bring with him two tables of stone, like the first tables which he broke. 
Moses obeyed, and went up to Mount Sinai very early in the morning ; 
and God came down in a cloud, and stood near him, and talked to him. 
Moses could not see the bright glory of the Lord ; no living man can 
see that ; but in heaven we shall see him face to face, and behold his 
glory for ever. 

God passed by Moses, as he stood on the mountain, and spoke with 
a loud voice. What did he say? He told Moses what a good, and kind, 
and gracious God he is ; a God who loves to forgive, and who saves all 
who come to him in faith ; but a very holy God too ; a God that cannot 
look on sin, and who punishes all those who will not repent and turn to 
him. When Moses heard God speak, he fell down and worshipped ; and 
asked that great and holy God to forgive his sins, and the sins of the 
Israelites, and to make them his own people, and to keep and save them 
for ever. And did God hear the prayer? Yes, he promised to keep the 
Israelites still ; and to give them the good land of Canaan, if they would 
obey and serve him, and no more make and worship the idols which the 
people around them served and worshipped. 

Moses staid in the mountain again forty days ; he neither ate nor 
drank, but God had power to keep him without food : and Moses was 
happy with his God, and loved to be there. God gave him many com- 
mands about what the people must do, and what they must not do; and 
he wrote again the ten commandments upon the new tables. When God 
had finished speaking, Moses came down from the mountain ; and the 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



113 



people looked at him, and saw that his face was bright and shining ; and 
they feared to come near to him. 

What made Moses' face shine? The bright glory of God, which 
rested upon him while he talked to him in the mountain. When Moses 
saw that it was painful for 
the people to look at him, 
he took a veil, and covered 
his face, and then spoke 
to them ; but when Moses 
spoke to God he put off 
the veil. 

Moses told the peo- 
ple all the commands of 
God, and showed them the 
new tables ; and he spoke 
to them about the Sabbath, 
the holy day of God, when 
they must do no work, 
because it is a day of rest, 
holy to the Lord. Then 
he told them about the 
tabernacle which God com- 
manded them to make, 
where they were to worship 
him ; and Moses asked them 
to bring their gold, and 
silver, and brass, and blue, 
and purple, and scarlet, 
and the skins of animals, 
and beautiful stones ; these 
things were to help to 
make the tabernacle, and 
all which was to be in it. The people were glad to bring their riches for 
the service of God ; and many of them were very busy and industrious in 
this good work. The women spun hair for the " curtains, and the men 
worked the stones, and the gold, and silver; all tried to do something. 

There was a man named Bezaleel, who was very wise in many 
8 




MOSES AND THE TABLES OF THE EAW. 



114 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



curious works, in cutting stones and carving wood. This man loved God, 

and he was very glad he could do something in his service. He made all 

the things for the tabernacle, and taught other men to help him, that the 

work might be done quicker. 

The tabernacle was mads of boards, with bars put across ; and these 

boards and bars were made 
of shittimwood covered with 
gold. At the entrance there 
were no boards, but five 
pillars of shittim wood cov- 
ered with gold. Within the 
tabernacle, under the upper 
end, were four more pillars ; 
a beautiful covering, called 
the vail, was hung over 
them ; and this hid the 
inside, which was the most 
holy place, " the Holy of 
Holies." None could go 
in there but the High 
Priest; and he went only 
once a year. 

In the Holy of Ho- 
lies was placed the ark. 
The ark was a chest or 
box made of shittim wood, 
covered with gold ; and there 
were rings in the sides, for 
poles to be put in when 
the ark was moved. The 
top of the ark was called 
the Mercy-seat ; two golden 
angels, called Cherubim, 

were placed one on each side the Mercy-seat ; they looked over it, and their 

wings covered the top. 

In the ark were afterwards kept the tables of the commandments, 

Aaron's rod, and a golden pot full of manna, which God commanded to be 




THE LAYER OF BRASS. 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 115 

put there. Outside the vail was the altar on which incense was burnt, the 
table on which the hoi}- bread, called shew-bred, was placed, and the great 
gold candlestick. The tabernacle stood in a large open court ; pillars of 
brass surrounded it, and curtains were hung upon thein. The brazen altar 
for burn t-offe rings, and the great laver where the priests washed, stood in 
this court. There were coverings and curtains to the tabernacle and court. 

Over the boards of the tabernacle was thrown a covering of fine 
linen beautifully worked in scarlet, and purple, and bltie; over the linen, 
was a covering of goats' hair ; over this, a covering of rams' skins dyed 
red ; and another covering of thick skins over all. The people were not 
allowed to go into the tabernacle : but the priests went in every morning 
to offer incense, and every evening to light the lamps ; and on the Sabbath 
to take away the old shew-bred from the table and to put on new. The 
sacrifices were offered in the court, where the people stood. 

This w^as the beautiful tabernacle which God taught Moses to make 
for his worship. The things in it were likenesses, or types, of better and 
holy things. The Hol} T of Holies was a type of Heaven, that holy place 
which we cannot now see ; and the ark there, with the bright glory shining 
above it, was a type of Christ. He is now in Heaven, and the holy angels 
stand before him, like the Cherubim over the ark. When the High Priest 
went into the most Holy Place, he sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice 
before the Mercy-seat. Jesus is our High Priest, and he offered a sacrifice 
for our sins before he went into Heaven. What sacriiice did he offer ? He 
offered himself; he died upon the cross, and there poured out his blood, 
and bore the punishment of our sins. And now, like the Israelitish High 
Priest, he is gone into the Holy Place, not into the Holy of Holies of the 
tabernacle, but into Heaven of which that was the type ; and there he 
pleads for us before the Mercy-seat, the throne of God. 

When all was finished, God commanded Moses to set up the taber- 
nacle. Then Moses put up the boards and bars, and threw the covering 
over ; and took the ark and put it into the Holy Place, within the vail ; 
then he placed the table outside, and put the bread upon it; and near the 
table he placed the candlestick, and lighted up the lamps. 

He put the golden altar before the vail, and burnt sweet incense 
upon it ; but the altar of burnt-offering, and the laver, he put in the 
court outside. Then Moses and Aaron washed at the laver : and the 
hangings were put up, and all was finished. A cloud covered the tabernacle, 



116 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



and the glory of the Lord filled it. The cloud was always there by day, 
and fire by night. When the cloud was taken up, the people journeyed ; 
and when it staid upon the tabernacle, then they rested in their tents. 

When the people were still at Sinai, after the tabernacle was set 

up, God spoke again to 
Moses, and gave him many 
commands about his wor- 
ship and service. God com- 
manded that Aaron and 
his sons should be his 
priests or ministers. They 
were brought into the taber- 
nacle, and there consecrated 
for the holy work. So now, 
ministers of the gospel are 
ordained and set apart, 
before they begin to teach 
and preach to the people. 
It is a holy office, and min- 
isters ought to think much 
about it, and to pray to 
God for his help and bless- 
ing ; and the people ought 
to pray, too, that God would 
give holy wisdom and power 
to his ministers, and make 
them faithful teachers of 
his word. 

All the Israelites 
stood at the door of the 
court of the tabernacle ; and 
Moses brought Aaron and 
his sons to the great laver, and there washed them with water. The water 
in the laver had power only to wash their bodies ; but it was a type of the 
blood which cleanseth from sin, and of the Spirit which sanctifies, or makes 
holy. Ministers should be washed in the blood of Christ, and have their 
hearts made clean by the Holy Spirit. 




THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK. 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



117 



Then Moses put upon Aaron the holy garments which God com- 
manded to be made ; the coat, the girdle, the robe, the ephod, the breast- 
plate, and the mitre. The coat was a long linen robe, with sleeves, and 
with a girdle worked in blue, and purple, and scarlet. The robe was a long, 
blue, linen gown, without 
sleeves ; round the bottom 
were golden bells, and fig- 
ures of pomegranates ; the 
bells sounded when the 
High Priest went into the 
Hol\ T Place. The ephod 
was a short robe, worked 
in blue, and purple, and 
scarlet and gold ; it was 
made of liuen, and round 
it was worn a beautiful 
girdle worked like the 
ephod. The breastplate was 
made of cloth, and was 
very thick. It had four 
rings of gold to join it to 
the ephod ; twelve beautiful 
stones were set in the breast- 
plate, three in a row ; there 
were four rows of stones, 
and even r stone had the 
name of one of the tribes 
of Israel written or cut 
upon it. 

The tribes of Israel 
were the descendants of 
the twelve sons of Jacob. THE consecration of aaron. 

These stones in the breastplate were called Urini and Thummim, that is, 
very light, perfect and beautiful things. Aaron wore the breastplate upon 
his heart when he went into the Holy Place, because he was to remember 
the people there and pray for them to the Lord. 

The mitre was a linen turban, and in the front of it was a plate of 




118 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

gold, on which was written, "Holiness to the Lord;" because the priests, 
the ministers of the Lord, must be holy in all they -do and say, wherever 
they are. Aaron's sous did not wear all the beautiful robes which their 
father wore. Only the High Priest had the ephod, and breastplate, and 
robe, and mitre. 

But Moses put upon the other priests the coat, and the girdle, and 
the bonnet or turban. All these holy and beautiful garments were put upon 
Aaron and his sons, to teach them how holy they ought to be, if they were 
honored to be priests and ministers of the Lord. All God's ministers, and 
all God's people, must be so too ; they must have on Christ's righteousness, 
and be renewed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, or they cannot enter 
into Heaven. 

Very soon after Aaron and his sons had been consecrated, they 
began their holy work. God's ministers and people must not be idle ; all 
have something to do for God, and it should be begun directly. The 
work of the priests was to offer the sacrifices, and attend to the holy 
services of God in the tabernacle. The sacrifice of a lamb was offered 
every morning and every evening. 

This teaches us that we need to have our sins washed away every 
day we live ; when we rise in the morning, and when we go to bed at 
night, we ought to pray for grace and pardon, and for every blessing 
which we want. We should thank God for all he has given us, and ask 
him still to give us that which he sees right we should have. This was 
what the Israelites were taught to do ; and if they prayed in faith, God 
heard their prayer, and gave them his blessing. 

On the Sabbath day two more lambs were offered, besides the 
morning and evening sacrifices. We should love to worship God every 
day : but we should pray to him, and think about him, more on Sunday 
than on other days. The Sabbath is a day of holy rest ; it belongs to 
God, and it must all be spent in his service. The Israelites were not 
allowed to do any work on God's holy day ; and we should try to be like 
them, and be very thankful that God has given us a Sabbath, on which 
we may learn to know and serve him better. 

In the beginning of every month, more sacrifices were to be offered; 
two bullocks, one ram, seven lambs, and a kid. Besides all these sacrifices, 
there were holy days and feasts, which God commanded to be kept. 

There were three feasts in the year, when God commanded all the 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



119 



men of Israel to appear before him. First, The feast of the Passover, in 
remembrance of the angel passing over the houses of the Israelites, when 
he destroyed the first-born of Egypt. They were to take a lamb, and eat 



Egypt; 



it as they did in 
holy to the Lord. This 
feast was in the spring of 
the year. The paschal 
lamb was a type of Jesus 
Christ slain for our sins, 
to save our souls from 
destruction. 

Second, The feast 
of weeks, or Pentecost, 
fifty days after the Pass- 
over. This feast was in 
the summer, when the corn 
was reaped ; and the people 
were then to give some 
of their fruits as a thank- 
offering to the Lord. It 
is God who gives us all 
our blessings, and we must 
thank and praise him for 
them. The Israelites in 
the feast of weeks were to 
remember that solemn time 
when God gave them the 
law from Sinai, fifty days 
after they went from 
Egypt. It was on the 
feast of Pentecost that the 
disciples of Jesus, many 



and to offer sacrifices, and to keep seven days 




AARON OFFERING SACRIFICES. 



years after, met at Jerusalem, when the Holy Ghost came upon them, and 
gave them power to speak different languages. 

Third, In the autumn, the Israelites were commanded to keep another 
holy time. The feast began by the blowing of trumpets, to call the people 
to attend. A few days after, was the great dav of Atonement. Then they 



120 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



were to remember their sins, and repent, and be sorry for them. No work 
might be done; and sacrifices were to be offered — bulls, and goats, and 
lambs, to teach the people that their sins must be washed away in the 

blood of the Great Sacrifice,, 
to whom they must, in 
faith, look for salvation and 
eternal life. 

And there are days 
when we should remem- 
ber our sins, and pray for 
forgiveness, too. Every 
day we ought to do so, 
but some days still more 
particularly. The begin- 
ning of the year, and our 
own birthdays, are very 
solemn times ; when we 
should remember our past 
sins, and pray earnestly 
to God to wash them all 
away in the blood of 
Jesus, and to give us grace 
to love and serve him 
better for the future. 

Five days after the 
day of Atonement, God 
commanded the Israelites 
to keep the feast of Tab- 
ernacles. This was a time 
of joy for seven days. 
THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. The Israe l ites we re to 

gather branches from the trees, palm trees, and willow trees, and to make 
booths to live in, seven days. The women and children staid at their own 
houses ; but the men dwelt in the booths, praising and thanking God, 
till the seven days were ended; and then they went home again to 
'their families. 

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THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



121 



time. The Israelites were taught by this to remember the time when they 
lived in tents in the wilderness, and to thank God, in their pleasant 
houses in Canaan, for having brought them safely home. The home of 
God's people is above, in the Heavenly Canaan ; there they will live for 
ever, and go out no more ' 
into a world of pain, and 
sin, and sorrow. 

There were two of 
Aaron's sons who were 
priests, whose names were 
Nadab and Abihu. They 
were not humble and holy 
men like their father, 
but proud and disobedient. 
Without God's command, 
they ran into the taber- 
nacle, with their censers 
in their hands, and offered 
strange fire, taken from 
the wrong place, and burnt 
incense before the Lord. 
God was angry with this 
rebellion, and he sent fire 
upon them, which struck 
them dead in a moment. 
Aaron saw his wicked 
sons die. 

But Moses told 
Aaron, that God had said 
he would be sanctified by 
his priests, and that when 
they came before him, they 
must come with reverence : Nadab and Abihu had sinned, and God had 
punished them, and therefore Aaron and his sons were not to mourn, 
nor rend their clothes, but submit quietly to God. Then Aaron held 
his peace; he was full of sorrow; but he knew that God had done 
right, and humbly submitted to his will : he loved God's house, and law, 




THE SOXS OF AARON CONSUMED BY FIRE. 



122 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

and glory, more than he loved his wicked sons, for he knew that God 
would not afflict him without just cause. 

Parents cannot give their children new hearts ; they can talk to 
them, and teach them, and tell them what is right, and pray for them; 
but they can do no more ; they cannot save them ; only God has power to 
do that ; and therefore the children must themselves pray that their sins 
ma}' be blotted out, and their hearts made new, and their souls saved; 
that they may follow their parents to heaven. 

When Nadab and Abihu were killed, God gave Aaron some new 
commands, that he might not make God angry, as his sons had done. 
The High Priest was to go into the holy place, within the vail, only once 
a year, on the day of Atonement ; and then he was to put on the holy 
garments. He was to offer a bullock for a sacrifice for his own sin, and 
a goat for the sins of the people, and to sprinkle the blood upon the 
Mercy-seat in the most holy place ; and he was to take fire from the altar, 
and bring it within the vail, and burn incense before the Lord. 

Afterwards, Aaron was to go out, and bring another goat alive : and 
to lay both his hands upon the goat's head, and confess his sins, and the 
sins of all the people, and put them upon the head of the goat. Then 
Aaron was to call a man, and tell him to lead the goat far away into the 
wilderness, that it might be seen no more. This goat was called the scape-goat. 

Aaron, the Jewish High Priest, was a sinner like the people, and 
needed his own sins to be washed away. But our great High Priest, of 
whom Aaron was the type, needed no sacrifice, because he was all holy. 
He offered up the sacrifice of himself for our sins, not for his own ; and 
then he went into the Holy Place, into Heaven, there to intercede for us 
before God. If we humbly come to Jesus, and ask him to take away our 
sins, he will forgive them all. God will never remember them again ; 
they will be gone for ever. God says to those who come in faith to 
Jesus : " Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." 

When the Israelites rested in their camp, waiting for the cloud to 
move, every one had his own place ; and each tribe was to keep by itself. 
The tribes were placed in the form of a square ; in the middle was the 
tabernacle and the court ; to the East, near the tabernacle, were the tents 
of Moses, Aaron, and the priests ; and the other Levites, the Kohathites, 
the Gershonites, and the Merarites, pitched their tents on the South, West, 
and North. 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



123 



They were near the tabernacle, because it was their business to take 
care of it ; to take it down when the camps moved, and to put it up again 
when they rested. The other tribes pitched their tents farther off. On the 
East, Issachar, Judah, and Zebulun ; on the South, Simeon, Reuben, and 
Gad ; on the West, Manas- 
seh, Ephraim, and Benja- 
min ; and on the North, 
Naphtali, Dan, and Asher. 
When the cloud rested, the 
people rested too ; but when 
the cloud moved, they were 
all to be ready for their 
journey. 

They had lived 
nearly a year at Mount 
Sinai ; and now the cloud 
was taken up, and they 
all began to move. But 
there was no hurry nor 
confusion in the camps. 
All was orderly ; every 
one knew what he had 
to do. First, the trumpets 
were sounded, and then 
the three tribes of the 
camp of Judah began to 
march. The tabernacle 
was taken down by the 
Levites ; the Gershonites 
carried the curtains, and 
the Merarites carried the 
heavy boards and bars, THE SCAPE-GOAT. 

and put them safely into wagons. Then the three tribes of Reuben's 
camp marched on ; the Kohathites followed, carrying the holy vessels of 
the tabernacle. 

Next came Ephraim's camp ; and, last of all, the camp of Dan, and 
all the sick and weak people who were unable to go fast. They journeyed 




124 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

-wherever the cloud led them ; and when they began to move, Moses 
prayed God to go with them ; and when they rested,- he prayed God to 
stay with them. They were always under his kind care and keeping, and 
therefore safe wherever they went. 

When we journey, we should ask God to go with us too ; and if 
we stay quietly at home, we should ask him to be with us there. While 
we live in this world, we have to move often from place to place ; it is not 
our rest ; it is not our home ; it is like the wilderness where the Israelites 
wandered so many years. But there is a home above ; Heaven is like the 
pleasant land of Canaan which God promised to give his people. 

• The Lord now spoke to Moses, and told him to send twelve men, 
one man from every tribe, to the land of Canaan, which God promised to 
give to his people Israel. The twelve men were to see if the land was 
good or bad ; if the people there were strong or weak, few or many ; and 
they were to come back again, with some of the fruits of Canaan, to show 
to the people. The men went away, and came to Hebron, and to a place 
called Eshcol ; and there they found some beautiful vines, covered with 
fine grapes. They cut down one branch, and put it upon a pole, and two 
men carried it ; it was very heavy, the grapes were so many and so large. 
They gathered some pomegranates and figs too ; and after forty days, the 
spies came back again to the camp. 

All the people wished very much to know what the spies had seen, 
and to look at the beautiful fruit they had brought. The men said, " The 
land of Canaan is a very beautiful and fruitful country ; full of corn, and 
vines and honey; but we fear to go there, because the people are many, 
and they are stronger than we." These men forgot that God was stronger 
than all, and that he had promised to fight for them, and to give them 
the land. They had no trust, no faith in their kind God ; and they tried 
to frighten the people, that they might not go to the good land. 

But two of the spies were not like the others. Their names were 
Joshua and Caleb. They trusted in God's promise, and did not fear. 
They said, " Let us go up, and possess the land ; for we are able to over- 
come it." But the people were frightened, and began to weep ; they be- 
lieved the spies more than they believed God, and forgot to trust to his power. 

Then they murmured against Moses and Aaron, and said, " Why 
did you bring us away from Egypt ? We were happier there than here : 
we wish we had died in the wilderness. Let us choose a captain and 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



125 



return to Eg} 7 pt." Caleb and Joshua spoke gently, and tried to quiet 
them ; but the people became more angry, and began to throw stones at 
Caleb and Joshua, to kill them. 

Then they looked up towards the tabernacle, and there they saw 
the glory of the Lord, and 
he spoke to Moses with a 
loud voice. He said he 
was now tired of his sin- 
ful people, and would not 
let them go to Canaan, 
but would destroy them 
in the wilderness. But 
Moses again prayed for 
them; he asked God not 
to forsake the people for 
whom he had done so 
many wonderful things ; 
but to forgive them, and 
spare them still. 

God heard Moses' 
prayer, and he promised 
not to destroy the people 
directly ; but he said he 
could not allow them to 
go to Canaan, that good 
land which he had prom- 
ised to his obedient peo- 
ple. His faithful servants 
Joshua and Caleb, and 
those of the Israelites who 
were now children, should 

, „ ., .- RETURN OF THE SPIES FROM CANAAN. 

go : but all the others 

must wander forty years in the wilderness, until they died. Their chil- 
dren would then be grown up, and Joshua and Caleb should go with 
them to Canaan, without the sinful disobedient parents. The people 
cried very much when they heard this. It was a great punishment to 
them. They could never again dwell in a settled home: never see a 




126 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

pleasant country any more ; but they must pass all their lives in the 
desert wilderness. 

The ten men who spoke evil of the land of Canaan, died of the 
plague before the Lord ; but Caleb and Joshua were kept in safety. Then 
the perverse Israelites, instead of humbly submitting to their punishment, 
said, " We will go to Canaan, the land God promised to us." Moses 
warned them ; he told them not to go, because God was not with them, and 
their enemies would come, and fight against them, and kill them ; but the 
people would not attend. They went to the top of the hill ; but Moses, 
and the ark of God, and the blessing of God, did not go with them. 

And had they power to take care of themselves ? They thought 
proudly that they had ; but soon their enemies, the Anialekites, came 
down, and smote them, and drove them away. 

About this time, while the Israelites were still in the wilderness, 
another very sad thing happened among them. A man was found gather- 
ing sticks on the Sabbath day. The people who saw him knew how 
wrong this was ; so they took him directly, and brought him to Moses. 
Moses was very sorry to hear what the man had done ; but he did not 
himself pass sentence upon him. God was the king and judge, and it 
was his law that had been disobeyed : and therefore Moses went to God, 
and told him all, and asked what must be done, and how the man must 
be punished. 

And what did God say? Perhaps we might think that the man 
had committed only a little sin, and that God could not be very angry 
with him for gathering a few sticks on the Sabbath day. But we must 
remember God does not look upon sin as we do. He cannot think dis- 
obedience to his laws a little sin. The man knew it was wrong to do any 
work on the Sabbath. He had stood by Mount Sinai on that dreadful day 
when the Lord came down upon it in fire, to give his commands to the 
people ; and he had heard him say, " Remember the Sabbath day to keep 
it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work ; but the seventh 
day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any 
work." The man knew, too, that God had commanded the people to light 
no fire, and to dress no food, on the Sabbath ; and that no manna was 
sent that day, but a double portion the day before, to teach them how very 
holy the Sabbath was. The man remembered all this, and yet he dared 
to disobey the command of God. This was not a little sin, but a dreadful 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



127 



act of lebellion against God ; and the punishment of it was dreadful, too. 
" The Lord said unto Moses, the man shall be surely put to death ; all 
the congregation shall stone him with stones. And all the congregation 
stoned him with stones, and he died." Such was his dreadful fate. 

This is a sad story. 
Learn from it how fearful 
it is to disobey the com- 
mands of God : and par- 
ticularly the command 
which tells us to keep 
holy the Sabbath day. 
Many people break that 
command, even in this 
Christian country. Some 
buy, and sell, and do their 
daily work on Sunday, as 
on other days. And others 
spend the Sabbath in idle 
conversation and amuse- 
ments. 

But God has told 
us not to find our own 
pleasure, nor to speak our 
own words, on his holy 
day ; and he is as angry 
with those who break the 
Sabbath secretly, at home, 
and in their own fami- 
lies, as with those who 
break it openly. These 
wicked people, perhaps, 
may escape unpunished punishment of the sabbath-breaker. 

for many weeks, and months, and years ; but all their sins are known 
to God, and written down in the book of his remembrance. And if they 
do not repent, they will surely be punished in another world, for breaking 
God's holy day here. 

Do you love Sunday ? Do you love holy duties and holy pleasures 




128 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

better than any others ? If not, you cannot be fit for heaven. The happy 
people there will spend eternity in praising God. This is their greatest 
enjoyment : but it would be no enjoyment to you, if you do not like to 
praise and worship God now. If you do not serve him here, you cannot 
live with him, and sing his praises hereafter. 

Pray to God to give you a new heart, and to make you love him; 
and then you will love holy things, and holy duties, and holy pleasures, 
better than all the things of the world. You will be happy while you 
live; and when you die, you will go to that "rest which remaineth for 
the people of God." 

God told the people that he would now show them whom he had 
chosen to be his High Priest. He commanded Moses to take twelve rods, 
and to write upon each of them the name of one of the twelve tribes ; and 
on the rod of the tribe of Levi he was to write Aaron's name, because 
Aaron was of the tribe of Levi. The rods were dry sticks ; there was no 
life in them. God commanded them all to be put into the tabernacle 
before the ark ; they were to stay there one night, and God promised to 
make the rod of the man whom he chose to bud and blossom, to bring 
forth flowers and fruit. 

This was a very wonderful thing to do ; but Moses did not disbelieve 
God, for He knew he had power to do what he pleased ; and, in faith and 
obedience, Moses laid up the twelve rods before the Lord. The next 
morning Moses went into the tabernacle and looked at the rods ; eleven of 
them were still dry and withered ; but the rod of Levi, on which Aaron's 
name was written, was full of buds, and blossoms, and almonds. Moses 
brought them all out, and called the men to take their rods ; and when 
they saw that Aaron's alone had budded, they knew that God had chosen 
him to be High Priest. 

The Lord told Moses to keep Aaron's rod safely; to put it into the 
ark, that it might be there always, to show the rebellious people that 
Aaron was God's chosen minister. The Israelites were obliged now to 
submit to the Lord. He had punished them for their rebellion ; and he 
had shown them by a miracle, whom he had chosen for his priest, that 
they might not again speak against Aaron. But nevertheless these 
people were not humbled ; they cried, and said, " We shall die, we shall 
all perish ! " 

It is sad when punishment makes sinners angry and rebellious. 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



129 



God sends it to make them repent and turn to him. He wishes all to be 

saved ; he wants none to perish ; and, when people forget him, he sends 

sorrow to them, to make them remember him ; to see if they will confess 

their sin, and ask for forgiveness. He is ready and waiting to forgive all 

who come hunibly to him ; 

Jesus is willing to save 

them, and to wash away 

their sins ; the Holy Spirit 

is willing to come into 

their hearts, and to make 

them new and clean. 

But if sinners still 
resist and rebel, God will 
not wait for ever. He will 
at last cut them off, and 
send them away from him 
to everlasting punishment. 
Then it will be too late to 
ask for pardon and sal- 
ration ; for God will not 
hear their prayer. We 
must go to Jesus now, 
and all will be well ; for he 
says, " Him that cometh 
unto me, I will in no wise 
cast out." 

When the Israel- 
ites had buried Miriam 
in Kadesh-Barnea, they 
began to murmur again. 
There was no water to 
drink, and they forgot 
their kind God who so often fed them from Heaven, and would not trust 
him. They said to Moses and Aaron, "Why did you bring us here to kill 
us with thirst ? We wish we had died with our brethren before the Lord? " 
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the door of the tabernacle, 
■and the glory of God appeared to them. He heard their prayer, and he 
9 




THE BUDDING OF AARON'S ROD. 



130 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



told them where to go for water, and what they must do. There was a 
great rock in the wilderness, and God commanded them to go and speak 
to that rock, and he said he would bring water out of it. 

Then Moses took his rod, and he and Aaron called all the people 

to stand before the rock, 
to see the wonder that God 
was going to do. But Moses 
and Aaron were tired of 
the rebellion and disobe- 
dience of the people, and 
they became impatient and 
passionate. This was 
wrong; they should have 
asked God to give them 
meekness, and gentleness, 
and patience, and to help 
them to bear with the 
Israelites. But Moses and 
Aaron spoke very loudly, 
and cried to the people, 
"Hear, ye rebels, must we 
bring water for you out of 
the rock ? " 

Then Moses smote 
the rock, and the water 
came out, and the people 
and their cattle drank. 
But God was angry with 
Moses and Aaron, because 
they had not obeyed him, 
and when they came to 
Mount Hor, he spoke to 
them again, and told them that they must die, and not go to Canaan, 
because they had rebelled against him at the rock Meribah. Aaron 
must die first; his work was ended, but Moses had much to do still.. 
All God's people have work to do ; God gives them strength to do it I 
and when it is finished, he takes them home to their rest. 




MOSES SMITING THE ROCK. 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS 



]31 



God commanded Moses, and Aaron, and Bleazer, Aaron's son, to go 
lip to the top of Mount Hor ; and there Moses was to take off the holy- 
garments from Aaron, and to put them upon Bleazer, and to make him 
High Priest instead of Aaron. All three went up ; they knew why they 
went ; Aaron knew that 
he was now going to die, 
that he should never offer 
sacrifices, and pray for his 
people again. 

Aaron knew, too, 
that he must have a sac- 
rifice offered for him, and 
that he needed a High 
Priest to intercede for 
him ; and he had faith in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the great High Priest, who 
should come to offer up a 
sacrifice for all the world 
— the sacrifice of himself. 
Aaron's sins had all been 
taken away, his heart had 
been made new by the 
Holy Spirit, and he was 
ready to die. Moses took 
off his brother's garments, 
and put them upon Elea- 
zer; and then Aaron said 
farewell to Moses, and to 
his son, and lay down on 
the mountain, and died. 
Moses and Eleazer went THE DEATH 0F AARON, 

back alone ; and when the Israelites saw that Aaron was dead, they wept 
for him thirty days. All the people mourned for their high-priest. 

After Aaron's death, the people wet to Kibroth-Hataavah, and then 
to Zalmonah ; and they murmured again, because they were tired of their 
long wanderings, and of the manna which God gave them. They forgot 




132 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



why it was that they wandered so many years in the wilderness; it \v<w 
for the punishment of their sin, and they ought humbly to have submitted 
to it; but their hearts were still proud, and rebellious, and unhumbled 

before God. 

God now punished 
his sinful people again. 
He sent fiery serpents 
among them ; and they 
bit the people, and many 
died. God has power over 
all creatures. He could 
bring quails to feed his 
people, and now he could 
bring serpents to kill 
them. . 

The Israelites came 
to Moses, and confessed 
their sin and asked him 
to pray for them to God. 
Moses was always ready 
to pray for them, and God 
was always ready to hear 
his prayers, and He told 
Moses how the people 
must De cured of the 
serpents' bites. He com- 
manded Moses to make a 
serpent of brass, and to 
put it upon a pole ; and 
he said, that all who were 
bitten, if they looked upon 
the brazen serpent, should live. The bitten Israelites did as God said, and 
were cured, and went on their journey again. 

We may learn a lesson from the story of the serpents. We are 
like the bitten Israelites ; we are all sick and perishing, not in our bodies, 
but in our souls. Satan, "the old serpent," destroys the soul, as the fiery 
serpents destroyed the body. We are all sinners; all in danger of perishing 




THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 133 

in sin; but there is a way to escape. What saved the bitten Israelites ? 
They looked upon the serpent of brass and lived. 

And what can save us? Jesus says, "Look unto me, and be ye 
saved." He was lifted up upon the cross, to die on it for our sins : and 
if we look to him in faith he has promised to save us, and to give us eternal 
life. He himself, when he was upon earth, said to Nicodemus, " As Moses 
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up ; 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." 

When the Israelites came to Heshbon, they fought with Sihon, king 
of the Amorites. God had commanded all the Amorites to be slain, because 
they were wicked idolaters; and he promised to give their possessions 
to his people Israel. The people were now coming into Canaan, and they 
pitched near Jericho. Very soon God would give them the land ; for the 
forty years were almost ended, and then they were to go and possess it: — not 
the rebellious and disobedient; they would all be dead; but their children, 
who were now growing up, should go, and Caleb and Joshua with them. 

There was a country near the land of the Amorites, called Moab : 
the king's name was Balak. The Moabites heard what Israel had done to 
the Amorites, and other idolatrous people; and they began to be very much 
frightened, and thought that perhaps soon they should be destroyed too. 
These people did not go to God to help them ; they did not ask the 
Israelites to teach them what was right, nor forsake their idols, and their 
wickedness ; but they thought they would try to bring evil upon God's 
people ; for they hated them, and wished their destruction. 

There was a prophet, but a wicked prophet, who lived a long way 
off from Moab, named Balaam. Balak, king of Moab, sent his servants to 
ask Balaam to come and curse the Israelites ; and the servants took money 
with them to tempt Balaam to go. The messengers went to the wicked 
prophet, and told him what their king said ; and when Balaam saw the 
money he wished to go with them. He knew that it would be very 
wicked to curse God's people, and he ought to have sent the servants away 
directly ; but he said to them, " Stay one night, and I will tell you what 
God shall say to me." 

In the night, God came to Balaam, and asked, " Who are these 
men?" Then the prophet told him who they were and why they came; 
but God said, ' Thou shalt not go ; thou shalt not curse my people ; for 
they are blessed." Balaam told the men, in the morning, what God said, 



134 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

aud they went back to their master. But soon after, Balak sent more 
princes to Balaam, and promised to give him great riches and honors if he 
would come and curse Israel. Balaam knew he could do nothing without 
God's leave, so he told the princes that he would ask God again. The 
Lord saw how rebellious and disobedient Balaam was, and he came to him 
and said, "If the man call thee, go; but thou shalt speak only what 
I tell thee." 

Then Balaam did not wait to be called, but rose early in the 
morning, and went with the princes. Balaam wished to go, and God let 
him have his wish ; but God's blessing was not with him. Balaam knew 
he was displeasing God ; he knew it was wrong to go to the enemies of 
the Lord, aud curse his people ; he knew God had told him at first not to 
go, and that he was now disobeying him. 

Was Balaam happy? No — he could not be happy; nothing can 
make us truly happy without God's blessing. When we wish for anything, 
or wish to go anywhere, we ought to ask ourselves, " Will God be pleased 
if I do this ? Is it his will that I should do so, or that I should go there ? 
because, if it is not, I cannot have his blessing, and then I cannot be 
happy." We should ask God to go with us, and to be with us wherever 
we are, and then all will be well. 

Balaam rode upon his ass to go to Moab ; he thought how he 
should do as he pleased, and have the money Balak promised him ; but 
God would not give Balaam the power to curse his people ; and without 
God Balaam could do nothing. The angel of the Lord came to stand in 
the way before the disobedient prophet ; but Balaam was not thinking of 
God, and he did not see the angel. But the ass saw, and turned out of 
the road for fear, and Balaam beat the ass to turn it back again. Soon 
after they came to a road through some vineyards, with a wall on both 
sides ; and the ass saw the angel standing with a sword drawn in his 
hand, and pressed close to the wall, and hurt Balaam's foot, and he beat 
the ass again. 

Then the road became very narrow ; the angel stood before, and there 
was no room to turn, and the ass fell down under Balaam. Then the 
prophet was very angry, and he beat the poor ass again with his stick; 
but it was not the ass that was rebellious and disobedient ; no, it was the 
prophet who was so wicked, and so foolish, and the angel was sent to him. 
Balaam did not see the angel, and therefore he was cruel to the poor ass. 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



135 



But God lias power to do all things, and he did a very wonderful 
thing then ; he opened the mouth of the ass, and enabled it to speak. 
Animals have not reason, nor the power of speaking, as most of us have ; 
God has not given them these things. He has given them instinct ; he 
teaches them how to find 
their food, and how to 
take care of their young. 
He has made them very 
useful to man. 

What did the ass 
say ? It said, " Am not 
I thine ass, upon which 
thou hast ridden for many 
years past? What have 
I done ? Why hast thou 
smitten me?" Balaam said, 
" Because thou hast not 
obeyed me ; I wish I had 
a sword in my hand, for 
now I would kill thee." 
But the ass said again, " I 
have been thine ass a long 
time ; did I ever do so 
before?" And Balaam an- 
swered, "No." 

Then God opened 
the eyes of Balaam, and 
he saw the angel standing 
before him, with a sword in 
his hand, and he was very 
much afraid, and fell down 
on his face. The angel 
asked, '' Why hast thou smitten the ass these three times ? I came out to 
meet thee, because thou wast rebellious and disobedient, and the ass saw 
me and turned away. If the ass had not turned away, I should have 
killed thee, and saved her alive." Then Balaam said, "I have sinned, 
I did not see thee standing in the way ; now then, if thou art displeased, 




BALAAM MEETING THE ANGEE. 



136 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

I will go back again." But the angel said, " No, go with the men to 
Moab, but speak only what I tell thee." 

Then the angel went away, and Balaam went on to Moab. But was 
he sorry for his disobedience ? No, he was frightened, but he was not 
humbled. He could not now curse Israel with his mouth ; for God, who 
enabled the ass to speak, took away from Balaam the power to say what 
he wished. But his heart was not changed ; he was rebellious and dis- 
obedient, and covetous still. 

Moses was now a very old man, one hundred and twenty years old. 
The Israelites were close to Canaan, and soon they were to go there ; but 
Moses must not go with them. He had sinned and disobeyed God at the 
rock, and his sin must be punished. But God was not angry with Moses 
now. No : Moses had repented, and he was forgiven, and his soul would 
go to Heaven. But God must punish his servant in this world ; Moses 
could not go to the good land which God promised to his people. God 
said to him, " Go unto the mountain Pisgah, and there I will show thee 
all the land of Canaan ; thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt 
not go over thither.'' 

Then God told him to take Joshua, and make him the leader of the 
people, to guide them when Moses was dead, Moses did all God com- 
manded. He took Joshua, and laid his hands upon him, and blessed him ; 
and God gave him his Spirit, and made him wise and holy, that he might 
know how to command his people in the right way. 

Then Moses called all the people together, that he might speak to 
them for the last time. They were the children who had grown up in the 
wilderness ; the rebellious parents were dead. Moses spoke to them of all 
those wonders which God had done for them, and for their fathers, for 
forty years. This last speech of Moses is written in the book of Deuter- 
onomy. He told them all their past history, since they went from Egypt. 
He reminded them of God's kindness, and of their sins and rebellions, 
and of all the laws which God had given them ; and then, when he had 
finished, he taught them a beautiful song of praise to God. 

The Israelites felt very sad when they heard their friend speak to 
them for the last time, and give them his dying blessing; and it was sad, 
too, to Moses to say farewell to those he loved. But he knew they had a 
friend in Heaven, who would never forsake them if they truly served him; 
and he told them to love and obey their kind and holy God. Then he 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



137 



blessed Joshua again, and told him not to fear, because God was with him 
to strengthen and protect him ; and then he and Joshua went together into 
the tabernacle. 

And now God called Moses, and told him that the time was come 
for him to go up to the 
mountain, and die. God 
showed him from the 
mount all the beautiful 
country of Canaan, with 
its hills, and fields, and 
water, and corn, and vine- 
yards. Moses could not 
go there ; but he was 
going to a better country, 
a heavenly one, where is 
no pain, nor sickness, nor 
sorrow, nor sin. Moses 
lay down on the moun- 
tain, and died, and the 
Lord buried him ; no man 
knew where, nor how. 
Then all the people saw 
that Moses was dead, and 
they wept for him in the 
plains of Moab thirty days. 

While the children 
of Israel were in the wil- 
derness the Lord gave them 
various commands con- 
cerning offerings. They 
were to purify themselves 
when they had committed THE DEATH OF MOSES - 

any sin, and there were other offerings which were simply for purification. 

One of these was for women, who at certain times were expected to 
make some kind of an offering that they might be considered as pure and 
un'defiled. This was commanded by the Lord through Moses, after a child 
had been born. The mother was to touch no hallowed thing nor come 




138 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



into the sanctuary until the days of her purifying were fulfilled. After 
this, she was to bring a lamb of the first year for a bnrnt-offering, and a 
young pigeou, or turtle-dove, for a sin-offering. These were to be brought 
unto the priest at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. He was 

to take them and offer 
them before the Lord, and 
make an atonement for the 
woman who brought the 
offerings. 

If she was not able 
to bring a lamb, then she 
was to bring two turtle- 
doves or two young pig- 
eons ; the one for a burnt- 
offering, and the other for 
a sin-offering. In this way 
the priest was to make 
atonement for her, after 
which she was considered 
clean and undefiled. The 
laws concerning offerings 
were strict, and the Lord 
gave them to Moses, tell- 
ing him to command the 
people to observe them. 
They were necessary for 
the children of Israel, that 
they might be reminded 
constantly that God was 
their God, and that no 
duty, however slight, must 

OFFERINGS FOR THE PURIFICATION OF WOMEN, be overlooked. 

The children of Israel in the wilderness were afflicted with many 
diseases. One of these was leprosy, which has always been one of the 
worst diseases and among the hardest to cure. In fact, there is a form of 
leprosy for which no remedy has ever been found. It is not very common 
in our days, although in Eastern countries it is sometimes found. Among 




THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



139 



the Israelii^ it was so terrible that a special offering of purification was 
made for it according to God's command given to Moses. 

It showed itself first by a scab or bright spot. Then the person 
npon whom it appeared had to be brought unto the high priest or unto 
one of the sons of the 
priests. If the disease 
had realty made its ap- 
pearance, the person was 
pronounced unclean. He 
had to be separated from 
the rest of the people ; 
first, for seven days ; then, 
if he had not recovered, 
seven days more. If the 
scab, or bright spot, had 
disappeared, he was pro- 
nounced clean, but if the 
scab spread, he was con- 
stantly watched in order 
that the plague might not 
spread. 

A certain law was 
given to Moses for the 
purification of the leper 
after he had been healed. 
The priest was to go forth 
out of the camp and he 
was to take for the leper, 
who was to be cleansed, 
two birds, alive and clean, 
cedar wood, scarlet, and 
hyssop. One of the birds 
was killed in an earthen vessel over running water. The priest took the liv- 
ing bird, the cedar wood, the scarlet and the hissop, and dipped them and the 
living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. 
Then he sprinkled the person that was to be cleansed seven times, pro- 
nounced him clean and let the living bird loose into the open field 




PURIFICATION FOR LEPROSY. 



140 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDFRNESS. 



The one to be cleansed Had to wash his clothes, shave off all his 
hair, and wash himself in water; then it was ten days before he was 
allowed to come into the camp. Next he was directed to make an offering 
to show his gratitude for having been healed. 

When there was no prospect that the leper would recover he was tc* 

be removed outside the 
camp and live by him- 
self, lonely and desolate,, 
that he might not defile 
the people. We see what 
a terrible affliction leprosy 
was. No one was allowed 
to come near the person 
who was suffering from 
this disease. Only God 
could cure it, and we read 
of his doing it in sev- 
eral instances. Once it 
came suddenly upon the 
hand of Moses, making 
it white as snow, and then 
was taken away again, 
leaving it as well as be- 
fore. God sent it upon 
Moses so that he might 
show that miracle to the 
children of Israel in Egypt. 
But this dreadful 
disease was sometimes sent 
upon persons for their sins. 
It was not taken away 
quickly, but stayed and 
often spread over their 





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SENDING THE EEPER OUTSIDE THE CAMP. 



whole bodies. Such persons had to cry, " Unclean ! " as a warning to others. 

Miriam would never have been cured of this disease except by a 

miracle. God had sent it upon her as a punishment for wickedness. Aaron 

begged that Miriam might be healed. And Moses prayed earnestly to the 



THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



141 



Lord for her, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. And the 
[Lord heard his prayer and healed her of her leprosy. 

The laws concerning marriage and the duties of husbands to wives 
and wives to husbands, were very rigid among the Israelites ; so much so 
that one offering was ap- 
pointed for jealousy. If 
any man's wife went aside 
and committed a trespass 
against him, and the spirit 
of jealousy came upon 
him, then he was to bring 
his wife unto the priest. 
He was also to bring an 
offering for her, which 
consisted of barley meal. 
No oil was to be poured 
npon it, for it was an 
offering of jealousy, bring- 
ing iniquity to remem- 
hrance. 

The priest brought 
her near and set her be- 
fore the Lord. Then he 
took holy water in an 
earthen vessel and put 
into it dust scraped from 
the floor of the tabernacle. 
He uncovered the woman's 
head and put the offering 
of memorial in her hands. 
If she were guilty of sin, 
the priest was required to TH * JEALOUSY OFFERING, 

pronounce a curse upon her. She was compelled to drink the bitter water, 
after which the priest took the jealousy offering, waved it before the Lord 
and offered it upon the altar. 

This seems very strange to us, but it was intended by God to pre- 
serve the purity of his people and to show them that they could not vio- 




142 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 

late their duties as husband and wife without suffering punishment and 
making atonement. A great many observances were required in order to 
keep the people mindful of God's goodness, and to sanctify them to him- 
self. When Christ came, these old sacrifices were done away with, because 
he was the one great sacrifice, and there did not need to be any other. 

The Lord said that when the Israelites should come into Canaan 
and live there, and have the land for their own, each man must take the 
first of the grain, and the first of the fruits, that should grow ripe in his 
fields, and put them into a basket and bring them to the tabernacle. And 
the priest at the tabernacle should take the basket out of the man's hand, 
and set it down before the altar of burnt-offering. Then the man 
should say, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, 
hast given me. 

And there he should worship the Lord. And the man was to leave 
the basket, with the firstfruits in it, at the tabernacle ; and the Lord said 
these should belong to the priest. For the Lord gave them to the priest, 
because the priests would have no fields, or orchards, in which to raise 
grain and fruit for themselves. And the Lord commanded each man among 
the children of Israel to bring his firstfruits, every year, in this way, 
as an offering, to the tabernacle. 

The people were told that on the day they should go over Jordan 
into Canaan, they must set up some great stones there and cover them 
with plaster. And while the plaster was yet soft, they must write on it 
all the words of the law which God had given them. Then when the 
plaster grew hard, those words would remain ; and every one who passed 
by could read God's law written upon it. 

If the children of Israel would obey the Lord, the Lord would make 
them greater than any other nation. He would bless their children, their 
land, and their cattle. Their enemies who should come out against them, 
would be afraid and flee away before them. And all the other nations of 
the earth should know that the Lord had chosen them for his people. 

But if they would not obey him, they should have great trouble. 
They would sow much seed in their fields, but reap only a little grain, 
for the locusts would come and destroy it ; they would plant their vines, 
but should not gather the grapes, for the worms would eat them. They 
should have sickness such as could not be cured. And the Lord would 
send against them a fierce nation that would not pity the old or the 



RAHAB AND THE SPIES. MS 

young, but would take their cattle and their food, and at last carry them 
and their children away, as captives, to other lands ; where the children of 
Israel should be slaves to their enemies, and, like their enemies, would, 
worship idols of wood and stone. 

RAHAB AND THE SPIES. 

YOfJ know that the land of Canaan was the land where Abraham,. 
Isaac, and Jacob had lived, and God had promised them that it 
should belong to their children's children. At this time there 
were many nations living in this land ; the names of some of them were- 
the Ammonites, the Amorites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, and many others. 

God told the Israelites that they were to go to the cities of these 
people, and if they would let them in, then they might spare their lives 
and. make them their servants, and they should pay tribute or taxes to the 
Israelites ; but if the people would not submit to this, then they were to 
fight against them and destroy them entirely. 

Why was this ? Because these nations were exceedingly wicked,, 
therefore God told the Israelites to destroy them. They had gone on 
from bad to worse, till their sins, like the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, 
seemed to cry to Heaven for punishment. 

It was about April now, and the sun had melted the snows of the 
Mountains of Lebanon, and these mountain torrents had made the river 
Jordan, generally small, swell to twice its usual size. The people of 
Jericho knew this, and they thought that they might rest in peace for 
some weeks to come, as the Israelites could not cross to fight their city yet. 

But ver\ soon after the death of Moses, Joshua had secretly sent 
two men to Jericho, to spy out the state of the city, and see how they 
could best get into it. It was a city with a strong wall all round it, and 
they kept careful watch at the gates, so as to keep out the Israelites. 

However, these spies somehow managed to get into the city, and 
they went to lodge at the house of a woman named Rahab. They had 
not been there long before they found out that the King of Jericho knew 
that they had come into the city, and that they had gone into that very house. 

The king sent messengers to Rahab, and said to her, " Give up the 
spies that are in your house, for they have come to search out the country." 

Rahab answered, "The men did come here, but I did not know 



144 



RAHAB AND THE SPIES. 



-where they came from, and they are not here now. They , went away 

through the city gates just before they were shut at dark. I do not know 

where they are gone ; but if you make haste I think you will overtake them." 

So the messengers went away through the city gates, and the gates 

were shut after them, and 

they went after the spies, 

as far as the river Jordan. 

When they were gone 

away, Rahab went to the 

spies, who were still in 

her house, and said, " I 

must hide you ; come with 

me to the roof of the 

The roofs of 

in the Bast are 

that people can 

them. This is 



house." 
houses 
flat, so 
walk on 

the place where, in the 
cool of the day, the people 
sit for fresh air, and often 
in hot summer nights they 
sleep here. Here, too, they 
would lay such things as 
required to be dried by 
the heat of the sun, and it 
was here that Rahab had 
laid out the stalks of her 
flax to dry. 

These stalks she 
meant to lay over the 
men, so that they might 
be hidden ; and that is 
why she took them to the roof. Before the men lay down she told them 
the reason why she wanted to save them from the King of Jericho. She 
said, " I know that the Lord has given you this land, and all the people 
who dwell in the land are afraid because of you. We have heard how the 
Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when you came out of 




ESCAPE OF THE SPIES. 



RAHAB AND THE SPIES. 



145 



"Egypt; we have heard how you have overcome all your enemies on the 
other side of Jordan. I know, too, that God will give you the city, and I 
want you to promise me that you will save me and all my relations alive 
when you take the city, 
even as I have saved 3^ou 
alive by not giving }^ou up 
•to the messengers." 

The spies said, "We 
promise faithfully to do as 
you say, if you will keep 
our secret, and tell no one 
that we have been here. 
Here is a piece of scarlet 
cloth : you must hang this 
in your window, so that 
we may know your bouse 
again. We will deal truly 
and kindty with all who 
are in this house ; so you 
must bring your relations 
bere, for if any of them 
are in any other bouse, we 
cannot save them, and the 
fault will be their own." 

The woman said, 
''It shall be as you say," 
and she put the scarlet 
cloth in her window. Then 
she let the men down by 
a cord through the win- 
dow, for her house was 
upon the town wall, and they reached the ground outside the wall. Then 
they went and hid themselves in the mountains for three days, until the 
men who went to look for them returned to Jericho. 

So then these spies at last got back to Joshua, and said, " We shall 
be able to take the city, for all the people are afraid of us, and the Lord 
will deliver them into our hands." 
10 




RAHAB SAVED AND ADD HER POSSESSIONS. 



146 THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. 

But perhaps you will ask, "Did not Rahab tell a lie?" Yes, she 
did, and it was very wrong of her to do so. But we must pity her; for 
as she was a poor heathen woman, she did not know, as you do, how 
wicked it is to say the least thing that is not true. Afterwards, when the 
children of Israel captured Jericho, Rahab was saved and all her posses- 
sions. This heathen woman who befriended the Israelites escaped the 
destruction that came upon the city. 

THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. 

GOD now commanded Joshua to take possession of the land which he 
promised that Israel should inherit ; and he told him to be of 
good courage, and only to mind the holy law and obey it, and he 
should be sure to prosper. 

Joshua then gave orders to the officers of the people to provide 
victuals for marching ; and he desired the Reubenites and Gadites, and the 
half tribe of Manasseh, who had already got their possessions, to join their 
brethren and assist in taking the land, which they honorably agreed to do, 
as they had before promised. 

Joshua came to Jordan with all Israel, and after three days the 
officers went through the host, and desired them to follow the ark of the 
covenant, which the Levites should carry before them. This ark was a 
sign of God's presence amongst them, and that he was their chief guide. 
They were to keep at the distance of two thousand cubits, or arms'-lengths 
from the elbow to the end of the middle finger, so that they might treat 
the ark with reverence, by not crowding upon it, and that they might see 
it better than they could if they were all thronging near it. 

So the day following, the priests and the Levites " took up the ark 
of the covenant and went before the people." And God told Joshua that 
he would now honor him by a wonderful miracle, which should show Israel 
that he had chosen him to lead Israel, as he had before chosen Moses. 

And Joshua told Israel what God would do for them, and that, as 
soon as the priests who bore the ark should touch the brink of the river 
with their feet, the waters of Jordan should stand upon an heap on one 
side, so as not to flow down their channel ; while those on the other side 
should continue running without any fresh supply ; and so the bed, or 
bottom of the river, should be dry for Israel to pass over, as the Red Sea 



THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. 147 

had before been for their fathers with Moses. Joshua also ordered twelve 
men to be selected, perhaps to go near and witness this miracle, for the 
entire satisfaction of the rest. 

So the priests moved forward and stood in Jordan ; and the waters 
dried up as Joshua had 
foretold, although this hap- 
pened at the time of har- 
vest, when the river over- 
flowed its banks, from the 
great quantit}^ of water; 
which made the miracle 
the more wonderful. " And 
all the Israelites passed 
over on dry ground, until 
all the people were passed 
clean over Jordan." 

The number of the 
Israelites at this time was 
six hundred thousand men 
besides women and chil- 
dren, which was, indeed, 
a vast arm y ; j-et it is 
wonderful that the Canaan- 
ites did not watch them, 
and try to stop their cross- 
ing of Jordan. But per- 
haps they thought they 
could not pass the river 
where the}^ did ; and if 
they saw that the waters 
yielded to make ^vay for 
them, it was quite enough THE ARK passing over Jordan. 

to frighten them, alarmed as they already were, and to make them run 
away, wherever they could, for safety. 

The passing of Jordan was a great event, and Joshua, therefore, 
commanded twelve men, one from each tribe, and probably the same men 
spoken of before, to take twelve stones from the spot where the priests' 




148 



THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. 



feet had stood, and to carry them to their nrst lodging-place over Jordan, 
-where they were to leave them. And so, when at any future time their 
children should ask, "What mean you by these stones?" they should be 
told, " that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant 

of the Lord, when it passed 
over Jordan, and that the 
stones were a memorial 
unto the children of Israel 
for ever." 

The drying up of 
Jordan must have been 
seen for some miles, and 
the news of the wonderful 
event, with the passage of 
the Israelites, soon spread 
among the Canaanites, and 
filled them with the great- 
est alarm, " neither was 
there spirit in them any 
more, because of the chil- 
dren of Israel." 

And God now com- 
manded Joshua to mark 
the Israelites of the new 
generation with the sign 
of his covenant with them, 
and they kept a solemn 
passover, which they had 
been denied in their wan- 
derings in the wilderness. 

The country people natu- 
THE ANGEL APPEARING TO JOSHUA. rallj fled away from the 

invading armies, and all their corn in the field and in store became the 
property of the Israelites, who took it and fed upon it, as part of their promised 
possession given them by that God who caused it to grow ; and having no 
more need of manna, that miraculous supply of food ceased, and " they 
did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." 




THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. 



149 



Next, we have an account of a wonderful appearance to Joshua. 
The person who appeared to him while he was, perhaps, thoughtfully 
looking around Jericho, and contriving how to take it, was no common 
being, or he would not have worshipped him ; and from the command to 
take off his shoes, which 
was an act of reverence, 
it was that Angel who 
appeared in the burning 
bush to Moses. He now 
told Joshua that he had 
come as Captain of the 
Lord's host, and Joshua 
might well be encouraged 
with the assurance that God 
would fight for him, and 
give him the promised 
land for his people. 

When the people of 
Jericho saw the armies of 
Israel coming they shut 
up the strong gates of their 
city; but though this would 
have preserved them from 
usual danger, yet now that 
God had given them up to 
Israel, nothing could save 
them. But the city was 
to be taken in a very won- 
derful way, to show that, 
after all, the hand of God 
was in it. 

Joshua had no orders THE DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. 

to batter it, or scale its walls. The men of war were only to march round 
it once a day for six days ; and the ark was to be carried round, and seven 
priests were to march before it, blowing seven trumpets of rams'-horns. 
And on the seventh day they were to walk round the city seven times, 
and the priests were to blow with their trumpets : and at a long blast of 




150 



THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. 



the trumpets, the people were to make a loud shouting, when' the wall of 

the city should fall down flat, and every man could get in without difficulty. 
So the armed men went before the priests that blew the trumpets, 

and a number of people followed the ark, and they marched round the 

city daily till the seventh 
day. Then Joshua gave 
the word, " Shout, for the 
Lord hath given you the 
city." And he commanded 
that everything should be 
destroyed in the city, ex- 
cept Rahab and her family, 
and the valuable metals 
that might be found, which 
were to be preserved for 
sacred uses. 

And when the peo- 
ple shouted, down fell the 
wall, and then the Israelites 
marched in, " and they 
utterly destroyed all that 
was in the city, both man 
and woman, young and old, 
and ox, and sheep, and ass, 
with the edge of the sword." 
The city was also 
burnt with fire, but Rahab 
and her family were, by 
order of Joshua, saved by the 
spies, who took them out of 
the camp, and she ever after 

joshua commanding the sun To stand stiix. li vec i w ith the Israelites. 

The people of Gibeon united with Israel ; then Adonizedek, who was 
the king of Jerusalem, "sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, and unto Piram, 
king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia, king of Lachish, and unto Debir, king 
of Bglon, saying, Come up unto me and help me, that we may smite Gib- 
eon; for it hath made peace with Joshua, and with the children of Israel." 




THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 151 

So the kings united with. Adonizedek, and marched against Gibeon. 
And when the people saw so great an army against them, they were again 
in a fright, and they sent off to Joshua with all speed, saying, " Come up 
to us quickly, and save us, and help us.'' 

Now, as Joshua had given his word, he would not kill the Gibeonites; 
and he would not, if he could help it, let others kill them. So he marched 
all night to Gibeon, with all his arm}^ and God told him to fear nothing. 
And he fell upon the five kings, and thejr being surprised, fled on every 
side, and Joshua pursued them. And God made it hail, and the storm fell 
upon them, and the stones were so large and came down with such a force 
that "they were more which died with hailstones, than they whom the 
children of Israel slew with the sword." 

The battle, probably, began very early in the morning, and Joshua 
chased the five kings till the evening. And now the sun and moon were 
both in sight : the sun was setting and the moon rising. But Joshua had 
uot destroyed all his enemies, and he spoke to the Lord before Israel, that 
the sun might stand still upon Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of 
Ajalon, over which they both seemed to shine, and so, by the day and the 
light holding out longer, he might completely defeat his foes. " And the 
sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged them- 
selves upon their enemies." 

Thus was Joshua highly honored before all the people ; and God 
showed to the heathen how foolish they were to worship the sun and moon, 
which they did, when he who made them could do as he pleased with 
them against themselves, and was alone worthy to be adored. 

STORY OF THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 

GOD sent Jabin king of Canaan to fight against Israel, and conquer 
them. He was very cruel, and they suffered much under his power 
for twenty years. God did not fight for them then because they 
had rebelled, and made him turn away from them. The Israelites felt 
this ; and they remembered their sins, and repented and cried to the Lord 
to forgive and help them. And did God attend to these rebellious people? 
Yes, for he is so merciful that he never sends away any who humbly pray 
to him. 

There was a very good woman living at that time, named Deborah. 



152 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



She dwelt under the palm tree between Ramah and Bethel ; and there she 
prayed, and sang praises to God, and talked to and taught all the people 
who came to see her. She was a very wise woman ; God had given her 
the best wisdom, the knowledge of himself; and he taught her to prophesy; 

and to know the future, 
that she might tell the 
Israelites what they must 
do, and how they could 
be delivered from their 
cruel enemy, Jabin. 

When the Israelites 
began to cry to God, Deb- 
orah, at his command, 
sent for a brave man, 
named Barak, and said to 
him, " Go now, and call 
men out of the tribes of 
Zebulun and Naphtali, 
and take them to fight 
against Sisera, the captain 
of Jabin's army ; for God 
promises to give us the 
victory." Then Barak said, 
"If thou wilt go with me, 
I will go;" so Deborah 
went with him and 10,000 
men to fight against Sis. 
era. But Deborah told 
Barak, that he should not 
kill Sisera, but that God 

would give the wicked 
SISERA SLAIN BY JAEL. captain into the hands of 

a woman. So Barak and his army went and fought against Sisera ; and 
soon the Israelites had the victory, because God was with them. Then 
Sisera came down from his chariot, and ran away on his feet to escape 
from Barak. There was a man named Heber who was at peace with 
Jabin ; and Sisera ran to Heber's tent for safety. The name of the man's 




THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



153 



wife was Jael. When J ael saw Sisera coming, she went out to meet him, 
and said, "Come in, eoiLe in, fear not." So Sisera came in, and lay down; 
and she covered him with a mantle. 

Then he asked for water to drink ; and she gave him milk, and he 
drank, and lay down again. 
Then he said, "Stand by 
the door, and if any one 
ask if I am here, *ay, 
No." Sisera was soon 
asleep, for he was weary 
with fighting and running 
so far; and then Jael went 
very softly, and took a 
large nail, and a hammer, 
and hammered the nail 
into Sisera's head and down 
into the ground, while he 
slept, and killed him. Soon 
after, Barak came to the 
door of the tent, and Jael 
called him in, and showed 
him his enemy lying dead 
upon the ground. 

Barak and Deborah 
felt that it was the Lord, 
not themselves, nor their 
soldiers, who had gained 
the victory, and they sang 
a beautiful song of praise ] 
to him. How glad the 
Israelites were to be in 
peace again ! War is a sad 
thing. If we live in a peaceful country, let us thank God for it ; because 
it is he who gives us peace, as well as all our other mercies. 

One of the judges of Israel was Othniel. This man was warlike, 
and was a noted conqueror. We have read of Caleb, who was one of 
the spies sent to Canaan when the Israelites were in the wilderness. 




CALEB GIVING HIS DAUGHTER TO OTHNIEL. 



154 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



Caleb was a man of excellent character, on accouut of which he was 
permitted to enter the promised land. Caleb promised that any one who 
should smite and capture Kirjathsepher should have his daughter for his 
wife. When Othuiel gained the victory, Caleb made his word good, and 

his daughter Achsa became 
the wife of this judge in 
Israel. 

The Israelites again 
forgot the Lord, and as a 
punishment were given 
over to the Midianites, 
from fear of whom they 
fled to mountains, caves 
and other secret places. In 
their trouble they remem- 
bered the Lord whom they 
had forsaken, and cried and 
prayed to him for help, 
and God heard them, as 
he had often done before. 
He sent a prophet to them 
promising that he would 
help them. There was at 
that time, in a place named 
Ophrah, a young man of 
great valor, Gideon,' the 
son of Joash. While he 
was threshing wheat, in- 
tending to hide it from 
the Midianites, an angel 
came and sat under an 
oak-tree near him. The 
angel said to Gideon, " The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." 
The young man asked, if the Lord was with his people, why did 
they suffer so much from the Midianites? and was told that he would be 
sent to save Israel. Gideon found it hard to believe this, for his family 
were poor, and he was the least in his father's house. Gideon fetched food, 




GIDEON OFFERING SACRIFICE. 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



155 



a kid and some cakes, and offered them to the angel, who told him to 
place them upon a piece of rock, and showed his power by touching with 
his staff the food, and fire came from the rock, and then Gideon knew that he 
was an angel of the Lord, and built an altar on the spot where he had appeared. 

By command of the 
Lord, Gideon threw down 
an altar which his father 
had built to Baal, the false 
god, and cut down the 
grove by it where the peo- 
ple worshipped the idol. 
After that the Spirit of the 
Lord came upon Gideon, 
and he sent to the men of 
the tribes to come to him. 
He sought a sign from 
God to know if he was 
doing right. He put a 
fleece of wool upon the 
floor, and said that, if in 
the morning the dew was 
on the fleece only and all 
the ground about was 
dry, he should know that 
God would save Israel by 
his hand. 

In the morning he 
found that the fleece was 
so wet that he could 
wring out a bowlful of 
water. To make sure 
that he had not been mis- 
taken, he asked the Lord 




He would again 



GIDEON AND HIS FLEECE 

to give him another sign 
spread out the fleece, and if it remained dry, and there was dew on the 
ground around, he would know that the Lord was with him. In the 
morning " it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all 
the ground." 



156 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



Gideon aua the Israelites made ready to meet the Midianites, in the 
valley by the hill of Moreh. The Lord knew that the people were vain, 
and if the Midianites were beaten, would take the glory to themselves, as 
there were more than thirty thousand of them, and he told Gideon to pro- 
claim that whosoever was 
fearful and afraid might 
go away. Twenty-two 
thousand went away, leav- 
ing only ten thousand 
under brave Gideon to 
fight the Midianites. But 
they were too many, and 
the Lord told Gideon to 
take them to the river, 
and notice how they drank. 
Three hundred lapped the 
water as a dog laps, the 
others knelt down to drink. 
We read that then "the 
Lord said unto Gideon, 
By the three hundred men 
that lapped will I save 
you, and deliver the Mid- 
ianites into thine hand : 
and let all the other peo- 
ple go every man unto 
his place." 

There were then 
only three hundred men 
to stand by Gideon against 
the Midianites, who were 
GIDEON and HIS LITTLE army. « !i ke grasshoppers for 

multitude, and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seaside 
for multitude." But the Lord had told Gideon that they were delivered into 
his hand, and he divided his small army of three hundred into three com- 
panies. Each man had a trumpet and a lamp hidden in a pitcher. In the 
night they went close to the camp of the Midianites, and suddenly blew their 




THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



157 



trumpets, and, breaking the pitchers, showed their lights, shouting loudly, 
" The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." The Midianites were struck 
with sudden fear, and fled, being followed by the Israelites, who killed many. 

Afterwards Gideon fought with and took the two kings of Midian, 
and destroyed the cities of 
Succoth and Penuel. The 
people of Israel wished 
Gideon to rule over them 
as their king, and after 
him his son and his son's 
son, for, said they, " thou 
"hast delivered us from the 
hand of Midian." But he 
would not, for, he said, the 
Lord should rule over 
them. The enemies whom 
they had killed wore 
golden earrings, and Gid- 
eon asked that they should 
be given to him. There 
were so many of these 
ornaments which had been 
taken from the dead Mid- 
ianites that they were of 
the value of a thousand 
and seven hundred shek- 
els, or about three thou- 
sand pounds of our money. 

There were also 
ornaments and collars, 
and purple robes, that the 
kings of Midian had worn, 
besides chains that were about the necks of the camels. Gideon made of 
them a splendid ephod or robe, adorned with gold and precious stones, to 
be worn by the high priests, and kept it in Ophrah, where, we are told, 
" it became a snare unto Gideon and to his house," for the foolish Israel- 
ites, forgetting again the power of the Lord, worshipped this fine robe, with 




GIDEON DEFEATING THE MIDIANITES. 



158 THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 

its gold and its jewels, and, perhaps, tempted even Gideon and his family 
to think too much of the beautiful and costly ephod. 

Gideon was a wise and able ruler, as well as a brave soldier. The 
country was in quietness under him for forty years, and he died at a good 
old age, and was buried in the grave of his father in Ophrah. After his 
death, the people once more became idolaters, and made the idol, Baal- 
berith, their god. The Lord was forgotten, and the brave and wise Gideon 
too ; for we read in the Bible, " The children of Israel remembered not the 
Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their 
enemies on every side ; neither showed they kindness to the house of 
Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel." 
So easily did the Israelites forget what the prophet Moses had taught, and 
what Joshua on his deathbed had bidden them remember — the power of 
the Lord and the blessings he had promised to his faithful people. 

Gideon had seventy-one sons, and after his death one of them, Abi- 
melech, having persuaded the people of Shechem that his brothers would 
all be kings over them, and it would be better they should choose him, by 
their help killed all his brothers, except the youngest, Jotham, who hid 
himself. Having been made king, Abimelech reigned three years, and 
after that time the men of Shechem rebelled against him, and there was 
fierce fighting, in which Abimelech was killed. 

He was, with his soldiers, about to set fire to a tower, in which 
were many people, when a woman threw down a millstone which struck 
him on the head, and, as he thought it would be a disgrace for a king and 
a brave warrior to be killed by a woman, he ordered one of his young 
men to slay him with his sword. 

. There was another famous ruler over Israel, Jephthah, a Gileadite, 
and mighty man of valor. When the people of Ammon made war against 
Israel, the Gileadites wished him to be their leader. In his youth 
Jephthah had been ill-treated by the people, and he asked them if, now 
that they wanted his help, they would choose him to be their head. They 
promised that they would, and, having been made captain, he sent to the 
king of Ammon a message, saying that the land had been given by the 
Lord to the Israelites, and that therefore he could not possess it, and did 
wrong to make war against the Gileadites. 

But the king would not listen to his words. Jephthah then made a 
solemn vow that, if the Lord would give him the victory, he would sacri- 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



159 



fice the first living thing that came out of his house to meet him on his 
return. There was a great battle and the Ammonites were beaten, Jeph- 
thah and the Gileadites gaining a victor}'-, and destro}dng twenty cities. 

The people of Gilead were full of joy when their brave captain 
returned, and as he came 
near to his house at Miz- 
peh, his daughter, his only 
child, ran out to meet him, 
playing on the timbrel, 
and dancing in her joy 
to see her father again. 

But the sight of 
her brought sorrow to her 
father. He remembered 
the vow he had made, and 
his dear daughter was the 
first living thing that came 
out of his house to meet 
him. Full of grief he told 
her that he had made a 
vow unto the Lord, which 
he must keep. The good 
and obedient girl was ready 
to die rather than her 
father should break his 
vow, and only asked that 
she might have two months 
for prayer and serious 
thought before she was 
slain. She went with her 
young companions into the 

j . . , -, TEPHTHAH MEETING HIS DAUGHTER. 

mountains, and at the end J 

of two months came back, and her father killed her and made of her a 
burnt offering as he had vowed to the Lord he would. For many, many 
years afterwards, the young girls of Israel lamented the fate of Jephthah's 
daughter, setting apart four days every year for mourning. 

There were other Judges of Israel after Jephthah — Ibzan, Elon, and 




160 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



Abdon ; but they could not keep the people from idolatry, and for forty 
years they were, for punishment, subject to the Philistines. In that time 
of trouble, there was a man of the family of the Danites, named Manoah. 
He had been married many years, but had no children. An angel appeared 

to his wife, and promised 
her, as before angels had 
promised Sarah, the wife 
of Abraham, that she 
should have a son. 

But she must not 
drink wine or any strong 
drink, and when the child 
was born his head must 
not be shaved, for he 
would be a Nazarite unto 
God. The Nazarites were 
certain persons who were 
set apart for the service of 
God, and made vows, that 
they would never drink 
strong drink or shave 
their heads as other Jews 
did. They were looked 
upon as holy to the Lord. 
The angel came 
again, and then the woman 
called her husband Ma- 
noah, who, not knowing 
that the stranger was an 
angel, offered to roast a 
kid that he might have 
manoah offering sacrifice. food. The angel told him 

that he would not eat, but that Manoah should make a burnt offering to 
the Lord. He did so, and, as the fire went upwards, the angel ascended in 
the flame, and they saw him no more. Then the man and woman knew 
that the}' had seen an angel, and fell on their faces in fear. 

Manoah thought that they would surely die, because they had seen 




THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



161 



God, but his wife, who had greater faith in his love, said, " If the Lord 
were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and n 
meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all thes? 
things, nor would have told us such things as these." 

When the child was born he was named Samson, which means, in 
Hebrew, " Hear the second 
time," because the angel 
came twice, and twice told 
his mother what she should 
do. As he grew up the 
Lord blessed him, and the 
Spirit of God came to 
him. He was very strong, 
stronger than any young 
man in Israel, or than had 
ever been known. When 
he was a man, he wished 
to marry a Philistine 
woman, which grieved his 
parents, for the Philistines 
were their hard masters, 
find they wished their son 
to marry one of their 
own people. 

Samson, however, 
was firm, and his father 
and mother gave way to 
him and went with him 
to Timnath, where the 
young Philistine woman 
lived. On their way there, 
Samson met a young 
lion which would have 
killed him, but so strong was he, that he seized and " rent it as he would 
bave rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand." He did not tell his 
father and mother what he had done, but soon afterwards came back to 
the place where the dead lion was, and he found that a swarm of bees 
11 




SAMSON SLAYING A LION. 



162 THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 

were, with their honey, in the body of the lion. He took the honey, ate 
some, and gave the rest of it to his father and mother, but did not tell 
them where he had found it. 

Samson married, and at the feast there was a great company, and 
Samson said he would ask them a riddle, and if they could find it out in 
a week from that time, he would give them thirty sheets and thirty 
changes of garments ; but if they could not find it out, they should give 
the came to him. The riddle was, " Out of the eater came forth meat, and 
out of the strong came forth sweetness." They could not find out what 
was meant, and persuaded Samson's wife to try to make him tell her the 
answer, threatening that if she did not, they would burn her father's house. 

She went to Samson weeping, and told him he did not love her if 
he would not tell her what the meaning of the riddle was. He refused, 
saying he had not even told his father and his m</ther, and he would not 
tell her. But on the seventh day of the feast, he could not bear any 
longer to see her in grief, and told her about the honey in the body of 
the lion, and she directly let her people know what the answer was. They 
came to Samson and told him, and then he knew that his wife had 
deceived him, and in his anger slew thirty men of Ashkelon, took their 
garments and gave them to those who had answered the riddle ; and then, 
leaving his wife behind him, went back to his father's house. 

Some time afterwards he desired to make up the quarrel, and 
returned with a present for his wife, but found that she had been given in 
marriage to anothei, and in his anger, he caught three hundred foxes, tied 
them in couples, tail to tail; with a firebrand between the tails, and let 
them loose among the corn of the Philistines, which was burnt up, as were 
the vines and the olives. When it was found that Samson had done this 
because of the treatment he had received from his wife and her father, the 
Philistines burned them both. But Samson, came again, and " smote them 
with great slaughter," and then went and dwelt on the top of the rock Ktam. 

The Philistines were determined to destroy Samson if they could, 
and they sent an army into judah, saying that they had come to bind 
Samson and to do to him as he had done to them. The people of Judah 
were afraid of the Philistines, and three thousand of them went to the top 
of the rock where Samson was, asked him if he did not know that the 
Philistines were their masters, and said they were come to bind him that 
they might give him up to them. Samson said, " Swear unto me, that 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



163 



yoa will not fall upon me yourselves." They answered, "No; but we 
will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will 
not kill thee." 

And they bound him with two new cords, and took him towards the 
Philistines, who shouted 
with joy when they saw 
the strong man, their 
famous enemy who had 
done such terrible things, 
about to be given up to 
them. But they were too 
hasty in their joy, for Sam- 
son put out his strength, 
burst the new ropes as 
easily as if they had been 
rotten threads, and leaped 
forward a free man. He 
had no sword or other 
weapon ; but lying near 
him was the j awbone of an 
ass, and, seizing it, he 
rushed among the Philis- 
tines, and slew a thousand 
men with it. 

After this no man 
dared come against Sam- 
son. He was chosen Judge 
of the people, and for 
twenty years ruled them. 
The Philistines would have 
killed him, but they all 
feared to attack him openly, 

and waited for a chance of seizing mm unawares. 
had secured him at a town named Gaza, where he stayed one night, 
and lay in wait to attack him in the morning, having locked and barred 
the gates, so that they thought he could not pass out. Samson, how- 
ever, knew of their plans, and at midnight pulled up the posts of the 




SAMSON SLAYING THE PHILISTINES. 

him unawares. They thought they 



164 THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 

gates, and carried them, with the heavy doors and the bars,, to the top of 
a hill near Hebron. 

This great effort of strength made the Philistines hate and fear 
Samson all the more, and they determined to find ont the secret of his 
strength, and kill him if they could. He loved a woman named Delilah, 
and the Philistines gained her over to help them, for she was a bad 
woman. She agreed to try to persuade Samson to tell her what made him 
so strong, and what there was that could bind him so that he could 
not help himself. 

Samson thought she was trying to deceive him, and told her that if 
he were bound with seven green withes (thin twigs of willow) that had 
never been dried, he should be as weak as any other man. She bound 
him tightly with them, and, armed men being ready to kill him, Delilah 
called to him, " The Philistines be upon thee, Samson." In a moment he 
broke the withes, " as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire," 
and we know how easily that breaks. Delilah pretended to be angry and 
sorry that Samson had deceived her, and again asked him to tell her truly 
how he could be bound securely. 

Still he would not trust her, but said if he were bound with new 
ropes that had never been used he would be weak. We suppose the 
woman had never heard how he snapped the ropes by which he was tied 
on the rock Etam, or she would not have trusted to ropes to weaken him. 
She tied him and again called out that the Philistines were upon him. 
Again he broke them as if they were thread, and again the Philistines 
who were lying in wait were disappointed. 

Once more Delilah tried to make Samson tell her the secret of his 
great strength, and once more he deceived her. Like other women of the 
time she wove her own garments, and he told her that if she wove his 
seven locks of hair with the web of her work his strength would go from 
him. She did so, but when awoke by her cry that the Philistines were 
upon him, he sprang up, carrying with him the web and a part of the loom. 

Day after day did she ask him to tell her the truth about his 
strength, and at length "his soul was vexed unto death," and, to quiet 
her, he told her his secret, that, being a Nazarite, his head had never been 
shaved, and that if his hair were taken off, he should lose the strength 
the Lord had given him, and be as weak as any other man. Delilah 
knew by his manner that now he was telling the truth, and sent to the 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



165 



Philistine lords a message to come up this once, for, said she, ' he hath 
shown me all his heart." They came as she wished and gave her money 
for her wicked, deceitful conduct. 

When Samson was asleep, she brought in a man who shaved the 
seven locks of hair from 
his head. It was well for 
him, and for Delilah too, 
perhaps, that Samson did 
not wake too soon ; but 
when he did wake he felt 
that he was weak, that the 
Lord had departed from 
him, aud the Philistines 
running in, made him a 
prisoner, and took away 
iu triumph the famous 
Samson who had been so 
terrible to them. 

Very cruelly they 
treated him. A few days 
before, a thousand would 
have fled in terror if they 
had seen Samson near 
them. Now they put out 
his eyes, and fearing that 
the poor blind man, no 
longer strong, no longer 
mighty by the favor of 
the Lord, might recover 
his power, loaded him with 
fetters and chains of brass, 

and set him to grind wheat cutting off samson's locks. 

in the prison. They knew not that, by keeping him there, they were 
giving him time to regain his strength, for his hair grew again, and with 
his hair came back his old power. 

It was a great time of rejoicing for the Philistines. They made a 
great sacrifice to their false god Dagon, for they said that he had given 




166 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



Samson their enemy into their hands. They believed that the senseless 
image which they worshipped had power over man, and did not know that 
it was the God of Israel who had punished the foolish conduct of Samson 
in telling the secret of his strength. They feasted and made merry, and 

at length the people called 
out for Samson to be 
brought out of the prison 
that he might make sport 
for them. They wanted 
to be amused by seeing 
the man who had been so 
strong, now blind and 
feeble, groping about in 
the dark and fearing to 
fall. They put him be- 
tween the pillars which 
supported the house, and 
a lad who held him guided 
his hands so that he could 
lay hold of them. 

It was a large house 
or temple where they were, 
and was full of people, 
and upon the roof were 
about three thousand men 
and women. They stood 
laughing and shouting. 
They saw Samson's lips 
move, and made merry at 
what they thought were his 
attempts to speak, but he 
was praying to the Lord: 
" O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, 
only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines 
for my two eyes." 

He held the pillars firmly, and saying, " Let me die with the Phil- 
istines," bent forward with all his might. The wonderful strength, such 




SAMSON DESTROYING THE TEMPLE. 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 



167 



as no man has had before or since, came back to him ; the great pillars 
bent, the house fell in a heap of ruins, burying all that were in it and on 
the roof, and among them was Samson, the mighty man of Israel, the 
blind man, who was more terrible in his death than in his life. 

The brothers and relations of Samson, when they heard of his death, 
went to fetch his body. 
The Philistines were, per- 
haps, so struck with terror 
by the terrible vengeance 
which Samson had taken, 
and with the loss of so 
many of their own people, 
that they made no objec- 
tion to the dead body of 
Samson being taken away. 
What a sight must the 
relatives of Samson have 
seen when the}?- reached 
the place, and searched 
among the ruins of the 
fallen house for his body ! 
They took him back to 
his own place and buried 
him in the burying-place 
of his father Manoah, for 
the Hebrew people always 
wished to be buried in 
family graves. 

For twenty years 
Samson, the strong man, 
was judge of Israel. After 
his death, Micah, who was 
an idolater, was a great benjamites taking wives from shiloh. 

man in Israel, and there was much wickedness in the land, and fighting. 

The Benjamites were engaged in war and were reduced to a state 
of desolation. So much so that they were unable to provide wives for 
themselves. Having gained a victory over their enemies, they came upon 




168 RUTH AND NAOMI. 

Sliiloh when the daughters of Shiloh were dancing, took them, Dy surprise, 
and carried away four hundred. Then they departed to their own families, 
and thus disobeyed the Lord by mingling with the surrounding nations. 

RUTH AND NAOMI. 

IN the days when the judges ruled in Israel, there came a great famine 
in the land. And a man named Elimelech left Bethlehem-Judah and 

went to live in the country of Moab. And he took his wife Naomi 
and his two sons with him. Blimelech died soon after he came to the 
land of Moab, and Naomi was left a widow. Her two sons, Mahlon and 
Chilion, married Moabitish women ; the name of one was Orpah, and the 
name of the other Ruth. In less than ten years the two sons died, and 
Naomi made up her mind to leave the land of Moab and return to Canaan, 
for she had heard there was plenty of food there. 

When she set out to return to the land of Judah, to whose tribe 
she belonged, her two daughters-in-law went with her, for they were very 
fond of her. But Naomi begged them to return to their own mothers, and 
said, May the Lord repay you for your kindness to me and to my dead 
sons. And with many kind wishes she kissed them, and they embraced 
each other. 

Orpah and Ruth were still loath to leave Naomi, and clung to her 
most affectionately. She urged them to return to their relatives and friends, 
for if they went with her they would have to endure great poverty and 
hardship. Orpah decided at last that she would return, and parted affec- 
tionately from her mother-in-law. Naomi begged Ruth to follow her sister- 
in-law. But Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to cease following 
thee: for whither thou goest I will go; and where thou lodgest I will 
lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where 
thou diest I will die, and there, will I be buried. The Lord do so to me 
and more also (that is, make my afflictions even greater than yours) if 
aught but death part thee and me. 

When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she 
said no more, and the two walked on until they came to Bethlehem, where 
Naomi had formerly lived. As soon as they entered the place all her old 
friends gathered about her and said, Is this Naomi? She said to them, 
Call me not Naomi (which means pleasant), but call me Mara (which 



RUTH AND NAOMI. 



169 



means bitter), for the Lord hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out 
full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty. When she went 
away she had a husband and children ; but now she returned alone. 

Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem in the beginning of the 
barley harvest. And Ruth 
begged that she might 
go and glean in the field, 
for she looked forward to 
a life of hard work and 
mean fare. Naomi said, 
Go, my daughter. And 
Ruth followed after the 
reapers and picked up the 
grain they left behind for 
the poor to gather. 

Now it happened 
that the field where Ruth 
gleaned belonged to a rich 
man named Boaz, who 
was related to Elimelech. 
When Boaz came where 
his reapers were he said 
to them, The Lord be 
with 3'ou. They answered 
him, The Lord bless thee. 
And when Boaz saw Ruth 
he asked who she was. 
And the chief servant 
who was set over the 
reapers told him that she 
was the young woman 
who came from Moab with naomi returning to bethlEhem. 

Naomi. She begged that she might glean after the reapers, he said, and we 
allowed her to do so, and she hath kept on gleaning from the morning until now. 

Then Boaz showed kindness to Ruth, and told her to go to no 
other field, but to glean in his, for he had told his young men to do her 
no harm. And when she was thirsty she was to go to the vessels the 




170 



RUTH AND NAOMI. 



young men had filled, and drink. Then she fell on her face and bowed 

herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in 

thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? 

And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been showed 

me, all that thou hast 
done unto thy mother-in- 
law since the death of 
thine husband: and how 
thou hast left thy father 
and thy mother, and the 
land of thy nativity, and 
art come unto a people 
which thou knewest not 
heretofore. The Lord 
recompense thy work, 
and a full reward be 
given thee of the Lord 
God of Israel, under 
whose wings thou art 
come to trust. 

And Boaz told her 
to eat with the reapers. 
So she ate with the reapers 
of bread dipped in vine- 
gar, and Boaz handed her 
the parched corn, and 
she ate as much as 
she desired. Boaz com- 
manded his young men, 
saying, Let her glean 
even among the sheaves, 
ruth gleaning in the field of boaz. an d reproach her not; 

and let fall some handfuls of grain on purpose for her. 

So she gleaned in the field unto even, and beat out the barley she 
had gathered. And when Naomi saw what she had brought, she blessed 
Ruth, and asked her where she had gleaned, and who had been so kind 
to her. Ruth said the man's name was Boaz. And Ruth told Naomi that 




RUTH AND NAOMI. 



171 



Boaz had asked her to come back and glean in his field as long as the 
barley and wheat harvest lasted ; and she did as he told her. 

Then Naomi said to Ruth, Boaz winnoweth barley to-night in the 
threshing-floor. The threshing-floor was a large circle of level ground, 
prepared for use by beat- 



ing the earth until it was 
hard as a floor. The 
sheaves were brought in 
from the field and spread 
out upon this floor; and 
the grain was trodden out 
by oxen, cows, and young 
cattle. Then it was tossed 
up in the air with pitch- 
forks, and the wind blew 
away the broken straw 
and chaff, and the barley 
or wheat fell to the 
ground. Naomi had heard 
that Boaz was to thresh 
his barley that night, and 
she told Ruth to wash 
and anoint herself, and 
put her raiment on, and 
go down to the threshing- 
floor, and do as she had 
told her. And Ruth did 
as her mother-in-law said. 
After the work 
was done, a feast was 
spread, and when Boaz 
had eaten and drunk boaz buying the parcel of land. 

enough he lay down to sleep with a thankful heart. When he was alone 
Ruth drew near him, saying, Thou art our near kinsman. And she asked 
him to be kind to her. Boaz said, May the Lord bless thee, my daughter. 
And he told her to fear not, for all the people of Bethlehem knew that she 
was a good woman. He said to her, Bring here thy veil and hold it out 




172 SAMUEL AND ELL 

And he poured into it six measures of barley, and. she took it home with 
her. And when she showed it to Naomi, and told her all that had hap- 
pened, Naomi told her to wait patiently and see what else Boaz would do. 

After Ruth had left him, Boaz went up to the gate and sat down 
there. The gate was a place where the people met to learn the news of 
the day, and to talk with each other. The rulers came there to hold their 
court, to try those who had broken the laws, and to decide in what way 
they were to be punished. Goods were also bought and sold there, making 
it a kind of market-place ; and there the priests spoke to the people and 
the prophets warned them. 

And he took ten men of the elders, or chief men of the city, and 
said to them, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. And he spoke 
to them and to all the people, and told them that he was going to marry 
Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi. And he said, You are witnesses. 
They had heard him tell it, and could tell it to others. And the people 
and the elders said, We are witnesses ; and they prayed that the Lord 
would bless Ruth, and make Boaz still more prosperous and famous in 
Bethlehem. 

So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife. And Naomi was glad, 
for she loved Ruth as if she had been her own daughter. And God gave 
Boaz and Ruth a son, and Naomi took the child and laid it on her breast, 
and nursed it for them. And they named the child Obed. 

SAMUEL AND ELI. 

THERE was a man named Elkanah, who lived at Mount Ephraim. 
He worshipped the true God, and every year went with his family 
to sacrifice to the Lord at Shiloh. Elkanah had a wife named 
Hannah, and she loved God too. Was Hannah happy ? One thing made 
her sorry : she had no child, and she wished very much to have a son. 

One year, when Elkanah and his family went to Shiloh, Hannah 
felt very sad, and she determined to tell her sorrow to God. So when the 
sacrifice was ended at Shiloh, Hannah went and prayed to the Lord. She 
cried very much when she prayed, and vowed a vow, and said, " If thou, 
Lord, wilt give me a son, I will bring him up for thy service. He shall 
be a Nazarite to thee all his life." Hannah was not alone when she 
prayed ; the old priest was sitting by ; his name was Eli. Eli looked at 



SAMUEL AND ELI. 



173 



Hannah while she was praying, and he saw her lips moving, but he could 
not hear what she said, and he spoke unkindly to her, and asked her what 
she was doing. Hannah told the priest that she was unhappy, and that 
she was telling God all her sorrows, and asking him to comfort her. Eli 
was very glad to find that 
Hannah prayed with her 
heart, and not with her 
lips alone; and he blessed 
her, and asked God to hear 
her prayer. Then Han- 
nah thanked Eli, and wiped 
away her tears, and went 
home with her husband. 

Hannah was now 
u no more sad." She had 
told God her sorrow, and 
asked him to give her a 
child ; and she waited for 
him to do as he pleased. 
She knew that what God 
does is right and best; 
and she trusted all to 
him, and was happy. 

Did God hear Han- 
nah's prayer ? Yes ; and 
soon after he gave her 
a little son. She named 
him Samuel. And now 
Hannah remembered her 
vow to give her child to 
God. When he was old 
enough to go away from HANNAH bringing SAMUEE to eel 

her she carried him to Shiloh, to the Lord's house there. Then Hannah 
went to Eli and gave the little boy to him, and said, " I am the woman 
who prayed here some time ago. I asked God then to give me a son, and 
he has heard my prayer. Here is my child ; I have lent him to the Lord : 
us long as he lives he shall be lent unto the Lord." It was a happy day 




174 SAMUEL AND ELI. 

at Shiloh when Samuel was brought there. Blkanah rejoiced and Hannah 
and Eli too, and they all worshipped God ; and Hannah sang a beautiful 
song of praise. 

Hannah left her little boy at Shiloh, and went home to Ramah 
with her husband. Was she so 1 ry to leave Samuel ? No, because she 
knew that God would bless her child, and that Eli would teach him what 
was right. Little Samuel w?.s very obedient, and gentle, and kind, and 
affectionate to old Eli. Every year his mother came to Shiloh to sacrifice, 
and then she saw her litfe boy. She made him a little coat, and brought 
it to him when she cam ^ to Shiloh. Eli and Hannah taught Samuel what 
was right, and they played God to bless him, and God heard their prayer. 
Parents and teacher', cannot give children new hearts ; but God promises 
to hear the prayers they offer for them in faith. 

Samuel grew and God loved him, and all his friends loved him too. 
Eli had two sons ; they were not little boys, like Samuel, but grown up ; 
and they were priests in the house of the Lord at Shiloh. God's priests 
ought to be very good and holy men : but Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's 
sons, were very wicked men ; they did not love nor obey God. Their father 
Eli knew that they were wicked, and he called them, and said, " My sons, 
I hear no good report of you. You sin against the Lord, and teach his 
people to do wrong. Why will you do such things ? " 

But Hophni and Phinehas would not attend to their father; but 
became more and more wicked. Eli was very unhappy when he saw his 
sons so self-willed and disobedient. But was he right to let his wicked 
sons stay and be priests at Shiloh ? No, Eli did very wrong ; he ought to 
have punished them and sent them away, and not let them be priests ; but 
Eli foolishly indulged his children, and did not like to punish them. 

Then God said he would punish Eli, and slay Hophni and Phinehas 
in one day. Eli was a good man, but God punished him because he let 
his sons go on in wickedness, and honored them more than he honored God. 

Samuel was still living with Eli ; and he was kind and obedient, 
when Eli's own sons were rebellious and self-willed. Samuel did not know 
much about God, but he wished to know more, and he was glad and 
attentive w T hen Eli told him about holy things. 

One night, when Samuel was in bed, he heard a voice calling, 
"Samuel, Samuel." It was God who called; but Samuel did not know 
this, because God had never called him before. So Samuel arose directly, 



SAMUEL AND ELL 175 

and ran to Eli, and said, " Here I am, for thou calledst me." But Eli 
answered, "No, my son, I called not; lie down again." Then Samuel 
went again and lay down ; but soon the voice called the second time, 
" Samuel." Samuel still thought it was Eli's voice, and he went again to 
the old priest, and said, " Here I am." 

But Eli said, " My dear child, I did not call ; go and lie down 
again." Samuel obeyed ; he wondered who had called him : but he did not 
ask questions ; he did what Eli told him, and lay down quietly in his bed, 
Did God call again ? Yes ; the third time, he said, " Samuel, Samuel." 
Was not Samuel tired of running to Eli? No, he went again to him 
directly; he was not impatient because he was called so often. 

When Eli saw Samuel running to him again, he began to think it 
was God who had called the child. So he said, " Go, and lie down ; and, 
if he call again, thou shalt say, Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." 
So Samuel went back, and lay down ; wondering why the holy God should 
speak to him, a poor sinful boy. Did the voice call again ? Yes, the Lord 
called the fourth time, " Samuel, Samuel." Then the boy arose, and looked^ 
up humbly to Heaven, and said, " Speak, for thy servant heareth." 

It is very pleasant when children early learn to serve and love Godj 
like Samuel. God calls children now. How? Does he speak to them 
with a loud voice, and call them by their names ? No ; they cannot hear- 
his voice ; but he speaks to them in his word, in the Bible. What does 
he say? He says, " My son, give me thine heart." " I love them that 
love me, and they that seek me early shall find me.'' '.' Seek ye my face." 
Do you wish to have God for your friend and Saviour ? Then you must 1 
like Samuel, attend to him, and obey him, and say, " Thy face, Lord, 
will I seek." 

Samuel grew, and every day he learnt more and more about God, 
He was God's child, and God kept him, and made him wise in holy 
things. It is very pleasant when children grow older, and better too : but 
some grow worse, and not better. Eli's sons grew worse, more and more 
wicked every day. God did not bless Israel now; they were wicked, ancf 
the priests were wicked, and God was going to punish them all. 

The Philistines came to fight against Israel, and there was a great 
battle. Who conquered? Not the Israelites, because God did not fight for 
them, and without him they had no power to conquer their enemies. The 
Philistines gained the victory; and four thousand of the Israelites were 



176 



SAMUEL AND ELI. 



killed. Then the people of Israel said, " Why does God let the Philistines 
conquer us ? We will bring the ark from Shiloh, and take it to the camp ; 
perhaps the ark will save us from our enemies." 

So they sent to Shiloh, and took away the ark, and brought it to 

the camp, and Hophni 
and Phinehas, Eli's two 
sons, came with it. The 
army of the Israelites 
shouted very loud when 
they saw the ark, for they 
thought they were now 
sure of the victory ; but 
God could not bless wicked 
priests and disobedient 
people; he turned away, 
and would not help them. 
When the Philis- 
tines saw the ark, they 
were frightened ; for they 
thought it was the Israel- 
ites' god, an idol-god, like 
Dagon, or Baal, and they 
told their soldiers to be 
very brave, and to fight 
against them with all 
their strength. Then the 
battle began ; and the 
Israelites were beaten, 
and ran to their tents ; 
and thirty thousand were 
killed. W here were Hoph- 

THE PHILISTINES TAKING AWAY THE ARK. n { an d Phinehas ? Their 

dead bodies were found on the field ; their souls were gone to appear before 
God, and to be judged for all their sins ! And the holy ark was gone 
from Israel too ; the Philistines took it away, and carried it to their own 
country ; God showed his sinful people that he was not with them now. 

Eli did not see the battle ; he was too old to go so far ; but he felt 




SAMUEL AND ELI. 



17: 



very unhapp} 7 ', because he knew how angry God was, and he thought 
much about his wicked sons. He went to the gate of the city, and sat 
down there. All the people of Shiloh were unhappy too, and they waited 
trembling till the news came about the battle. At last, a man came run- 
ning very fast from the 
army ; and when the peo- 
ple looked at him, they 
saw that his clothes were 
rent, and dust was upon 
his head, and they knew 
that he brought very 
sad news. 

When the man 
told them that the battle 
was lost, all the people 
cried out ; the cry was 
very loud, and very bitter 
and Eli heard it. He 
could not see, for his eyes 
were dim with old age, he-. 
was ninet}r-eight years 
old, but he heard the 
noise, and he called the 
messenger, and asked, 
" What is the noise I 
hear ? Why do the peo- 
ple cry? " The messen- 
ger said, " I have just run 
from the army," Then 
Eli trembled very much, 
and asked, " What is done 
there ? tell me." The the death of ELI. 

man said, " The Israelites are conquered, Hophni and Phinehas are slain, 
and the ark of God is taken away." 

Eli heard it all ; but when the messenger said that the ark was 
gone, he could bear no more ; he did not look up, nor speak again ; he fell 
back off his seat, and his neck broke, and he died. He could not bear so 
12 




178 



SAMUEL AND EU. 



much sorrow. He had lost all his comforts ; God's anger was upon the 
country ; and the ark and the blessing of God were taken away. 

The Philistines took away the ark from Ebenezer, where the battle 
was fought, and carried it to Ashdod, and put it in the temple of their 

idol Dagon. The Philis- 
tines thought that the ark 
was an idol like Dagon ; 
but God soon showed them 
that it was very different. 
When the Philis- 
tines came into the temple 
on the morrow morning, 
they saw Dagon fallen 
down before the ark ; and 
they took him, and put 
him up again. But the 
next day, they found 
Dagon fallen down again, 
and his hands and his 
head broken to pieces. 
Who had done this ? God 
did it to show the Philis- 
tines how powerful he 
was, and that their idol 
god could not stand before 
his holy ark. God pun- 
ished the people too of 
Ashdod with a dreadful 
plague ; and they were 
very much frightened, 
and said, the ark should 
destruction OF THE idoe OF DAGON. no t stay with them any 

longer, because it hurt them and was opposed to their god Dagon. 

Many people say in their hearts, '- We do not want God : we do not like 
to pray, and to think of him, and to serve him ; we like our pleasures best, we 
like the world best." These people are like the Philistines, who sent away the 
holy ark, because they liked to serve Dagon better than the true God. 




SAMUEL AND ELL 179 

Where did the ark go? The Philistines sent it to Gath; but there 
God punished the people with the plague, and then they sent the ark to 
Ekron. When the people of Ekron saw it corning, they were frightened, 
and cried, " Take the ark awa}^ ; we fear a plague will come with it ; send 
it back to its own country." The ark was seven months in the Philistines' 
country-, and rnany people died of the plague which God sent. 

At last, the Philistines said, they would send the ark home : for 
the}' saw that the God of Israel was stronger than they, and they could 
not resist his power. So they made a new cart, and put the ark into it ; 
two kine drew the cart. They took the right road to go to the land of 
Israel ; they did not stand still ; they went straight on, without turning to 
right or left. 

The kine drew the ark in the cart to Bethshemesh. The people 
there were very busy reaping : for it was harvest time. They heard some- 
thing coming, and looked up, to see what it was. What did they see? 
The cart drawn by the kine, without a driver, coming to them along the 
road ; and when they looked into the cart, there they saw the holy ark of 
God, which they had lost so long. Then the people in Bethshemesh 
rejoiced very much. 

The cart came close to them, and the kine stood still ; and the 
Levites took out the ark, and put it upon a large stone. Then they cut 
up the cart for wood, and offered the kine in joyful sacrifice to God who 
had sent them his holy ark again. The lords of the Philistines, who 
followed the cart, saw all this, and wondered, and returned to their own 
country. 

But a sad thing happened to Bethshemesh that day. The people 
were very pleased to have the ark again ; but some of them forgot what a 
holy thing it was, and they went to it, and looked into it, very irrever- 
ently, without remembering that God had commanded them to honor it, 
and only allowed the Levites to touch it. The men of Bethshemesh made 
God angry ; and he smote them ; and fifty thousand and seventy people died. 

The people were very much frightened when they saw so many of 
their friends dead, and said, "Who can stand before this holy Lord God?" 
Then they sent to Kirjath-jearim, and asked the people there to come and 
take the ark away. The men of Kirjath-jearim were glad to have it; and 
they brought it to the house of a man named Abinadab, and he conse- 
crated his son to keep it ; and it stayed there many years. 



180 SAMUEL AND SAUL. 

The Israelites now began to be sorry for their sins, and they cried 
to the Lord. God had punished them very much, and taken away the ark 
from them ; but now they wanted to have God's blessing again, because 
they felt they could not be happy without it. 

None can be happy without God's love and blessing. We have not 
the ark now to be with us, as it used to be with Israel, and we do not 
want it. We have Jesus Christ, and he is always with us, to bless us, if 
we are his people. 

When the Israelites began to cry about their sins, they had a kind 
friend to teach them what to do. Who was that friend ? Samuel ; he was 
now a man, and God's love and blessing were still upon him. God taught 
him to speak to his people Israel. Samuel said, " Do you wish to serve 
God in truth, and to have his blessing again ? If you do, you must put 
away your idols, and turn to God, and serve him alone." Then the 
Israelites attended to Samuel, and put away their idols, and began to serve 
the Lord. Samuel called them to Mizpeh, and there he prayed for them ; 
and they prayed too, and asked for forgiveness, and cried, " We have 
sinned against the Lord." 

SAMUEL AND SAUL. 

YBT twenty years longer the Israelites groaned under the yoke of 
the Philistines; and all lamented after the Lord, and entreated 
his return. And Samuel spake to all the house of Israel saying, 
If ye do return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the 
strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you and prepare your hearts 
unto the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the 
hands of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim 
and Ashtaroth and served the Lord only. And Samuel judged the children 
of Isr. el in Mizpeh. 

And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were 
gathered together at Mizpeh, they went up against them. And the children 
of Israel were afraid, and said to Samuel : Cease not to cry to the Lord 
for us, that he will save us out of the hands of the Philistines. And 
Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it wholly as a burnt-offering to 
the Lord ; and he cried to the Lord for Israel ; and the Lord heard him. 
And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew 



SAMUEL AND SAUL. 181 

near to battle against Israel, but the Lord thundered with a great thunder 
that day upon the Philistines and discomfited them, and they were smitten 
before Israel. 

And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh and pursued the Philis- 
tines and smote them until they came under Beth-car. Then Samuel took 
a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen and called the name of it 
Ebenezer, sa}dng, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. Moreover Samuel 
instituted the schools of the Prophets. Hence he is mentioned in Holy 
Scripture with Moses in importance. 

When Samuel was old he made his sons judges over Israel in 
Beer-sheba. But his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after 
lucre and took bribes and perverted judgment. Then all the elders of 
Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and 
said to him: Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways; 
now make us a king to judge us like all the nations, and go out before 
us and fight our battles. But their words displeased Samuel, and he prayed 
to the Lord. 

And the Lord said to him: Hearken to their voice and make them 
a king. And Samuel called the people together at Mizpeh, and proceeded 
to elect their future ruler by lot. And the let fell first upon the tribe of 
Benjamin, and then upon the family of Matri, next upon the household of 
Kish, and lastly upon his. son Saul ; and when they sought him he could 
not be found, for he had hid himself behind the carts and baggage; and 
when he was found and stood among the people, he was higher than any 
of the people from his shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to all the 
people : See ye him, whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like 
him among all the people ? And all the people shouted and said : Long 
live the king. Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, 
and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. Then he anointed Saul. 

Then Nahash, the Ammonite, came up and encamped against Jabesh- 
Gilead ; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a covenant with 
us, and we will serve thee. And he answered them: On this condition 
will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right 
ejres and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. 

But the elders of Jabesh sent messengers to Gibeah of Saul and told 
the tidings in the ears of the people ; and all the people lifted up their 
voices and wept. And behold, Saul came after the oxen out of the field; 



182 



SAMUEL AND SAUL. 



and when he saw the people weeping and heard those tidings, the Spirit 
of the Lord came upon him and his anger was kindled greatly. And he 
took the 3 T oke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces and sent them throughout 
all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying: Whosoever 

cometh not forth after 
Saul and Samuel, so shall 
it be done to his oxen. 
And the fear of the Lord 
fell gj f he people, and they 
came out to the number of 
three hundred thousand. 
And Saul put the 
people in three com- 
panies ; and they came in 
the midst of the host in 
the morning-watch and 
slew the Ammonites until 
the heat of the day, and 
scattered them so that not 
two of them were left 
together. Pleased with 
Saul's victory and bravery 
all the people went to 
Gil gal, and there they 
made Saul king and sacri- 
ficed sacrifices of peace- 
offerings before the Lord ; 
and there Samuel and 
all the men of Israel 
rejoiced greatly. 

And Samuel said 
Saul anointed by SAMUEL. to all Israel: Behold I 

have hearkened to your voice and have made a king over you. And now, 
behold, the king walketh before you, and I am old and gray-headed. I have 
walked before you from my childhood to this day. Behold here I am : 
witness against me before the Lord, and before his Anointed: whose ox 
have I taken, or whose ass have I taken, or whom have I defrauded ? whom 




SAMUEL AND SAUL. 



183 



have T oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind 
mine eyes therewith ? and I will restore it you. 

And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither 
hast thou taken aught of any man's hand. And he said to them : The 
Lord is witness against _ 
you and his Anointed is 
witness this day that ye 
have not found aught in 
my hands. And they 
answered: He is witness. 
Then Samuel went on 
saying : Behold, the Lord 
hath set a king over you. 
If ye will fear the Lord 
and serve him and obey 
his voice and not rebel 
against his command- 
ment, then shall both ye 
and your king be safe 
and happy under his care. 
But if ye will not obey 
the voice of the Lord, but 
rebel against the com- 
mandment of the Lord, 
then shall the hand of the 
Lord be against you, as it 
was against your fathers. 
Fear therefore the Lord 
and serve him in truth 
with all your heart. 

After this the Phil- 
istines again invaded Is- Jonathan smiting the Philistines. 
rael, and they made servants of the people, neither would they let the men of 
Israel have swords or spears, for fear they might rise up and fight against 
them. Nevertheless Jonathan and his band smote the Philistines that were in 
Geba. And the Philistines heard of it and gathered themselves together to 
fight against Israel. And they came up and encamped in Michuash. Then 




18-4 SAMUEL AND SAUL. 

Saul called the Israelites together to Gilgal. But the people were sore afraid 
and hid themselves in caves and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high 
places, and in pits, so that only six hundred men followed Saul, trembling. 

Now there was a deep ravine between the hostile camps with steep 
cliffs on either side. And Jonathan said to the young man who carried 
his armour : Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised, 
and discover ourselves to them ; it may be that the Lord will work for us. 

At the first assault twenty men were slain. And there was trembling 
in the host, in the field and among all the people, and the earth quaked : 
it was a very great trembling of God. Now when Saul had heard by the 
watchmen of the commotion in the camp of the Philistines, and that they 
were beating down one another, he and all the people that were with him 
came to the battle. Likewise, they that had hid themselves, when the}^ 
heard that the Philistines fled, pursued after them till night-fall. 

Then the people flew upon the spoil and took sheep and oxen and 
calves and slew them on the ground, and the people did eat them with the 
blood, so hungry were they. For before the battle, Saul had adjured the 
people, saying: Cursed is the man that eats any food till evening, that I 
may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food. 
And they came to a wood where honey was dropping from the bee-nests 
in the trees. But no man touched it for fear of the oath. Only Jonathan, 
who had not heard his father charging the people with an oath, put forth 
the end of his spear, and dipped it in a honey-comb, and put his hand to 
his mouth, and his eyes were enlightened. 

And when om of the people told him of the oath of his father, he 
said: My father hath troubled the land; see, I pray you, how mine eyes 
have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey; how much 
more, if haply the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies 
which they found, for had there not been now a much greater slaughter 
of the enemy. But when Saul found it out by the lot, he said to Jonathan: 
Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said: I did 
but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hands, 
and lo, I must die. And Saul answered : God do so to me and more also 
(if I break my vow), thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. But the people said 
to Saul : Shall Jonathan die, who has wrought this great salvation in 
Israel ? God forbid ; as the Lord lives, there shall not one hair of his 
head fall to the ground. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. 



SAMUEL AND SAUL. 



185 



So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his 
enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Amnion, 
and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the' Philis- 
tines, and whithersoever he turned himself, he humbled them. 

Now the Amalekites alone had not been smitten. Therefore Samuel 
said to Saul : The Lord 



sent me to anoint thee to 
be king over his people: 
now hearken thou unto 
the voice of the Lord. 
Thus says the Lord of 
hosts: I remember that 
which Amalek did to 
Israel, how he laid wait for 
him in the way, when 
he came up from Egypt. 
Now go and smite Ama- 
lek, and utterly destroy 
all that they have and 
spare them not. And Saul 
smote the Amalekites, but 
spared Agag their king, 
and the best of the sheep 
and the oxen and all 
that was good. 

Then came the 
word of the Lord to Sam- 
uel, saying : It repenteth 
me, that I have set up Saul 
to be king, for he turned 
back from following me, 
and hath not performed 
my commandments. And the lot falls upon Jonathan. 

it grieved Samuel ; and he cried to the Lord all night. And on the next day 
already Saul met him, and said to him : Blessed be thou of the Lord ; I have 
performed the commandment of the Lord. But Samuel replied: What 
meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the 




186 



SAMUEL AND SAUL. 



oxen wnich I hear? And Saul said: The people have brought them from 
the Amalekites, for they spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to 
sacrifice to the Lord, thy God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 

Then Samuel said to Saul : Stay, and I will tell thee what the 

Lord said to me this night. 
And he said to him : Say 
on. And Samuel said : 
When thou wast little in 
thine own sight, wast thou 
not made head of the tribes 
of Israel, and the Lord 
anointed thee king over 
Israel ? And the Lord sent 
thee on a journey, and 
said : Go, and utterly de- 
stroy the sinners, the Ama- 
lekites ; wherefore didst 
thou not obey the voice 
of the Lord, but didst seize 
upon the spoil, and didst 
evil in the sight of the 
Lord? Hath the Lord as 
great delight in burnt- 
offerings and sacrifices as 
in obeying his voice ? Be- 
hold, to obey is better than 
sacrifice, and to hearken 
than the fat of rams. Then 
Saul said : I have sinned ! 
yet honor me now, I pray 
thee, before Israel, and turn 
THE death of agag. once mor e with me, that I 

may worship the Lord, thy God Samuel, overcome by this repeated entreaty 
of the humbled king, joined him in the sacrifice. Then Agag, the king of 
the Amalekites, was, at his command, brought before the prophet. And he 
came fawningly and said : Surely the bitterness of death is past. But Samuel 
said : As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be 




THE STORY OF DAVID. 187 

childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the 
Lord in Gilgal. Then he went to Ramah, and came no more to see Saul 
until the day of his death ; nevertheless he mourned for the rejected king. 

THE STORY OF DAVID. 

ONE day, when Samuel was mourning for Saul, God spoke to him, 
and said, " Do not mourn any longer for Saul. I will not have 
him for king, because he has forsaken me. Take a horn of oil, 
and go to the house of Jesse, in Bethlehem. I have chosen a king among 
his sons." Then Samuel obeyed God, and went to Bethlehem, and made 
a sacrifice there, as God told him, and he called Jesse and his sons to the 
sacrifice. Jesse had eight sons. Seven of them were at home, but the 
3^oungest was in the fields keeping sheep. 

When Samuel saw Eliab, Jesse's eldest son, he was very much 
pleased with him ; and thought he must be the new king God had chosen. 
But God did not look at the face, he looked at the heart ; he wanted a 
king who would love and serve him, not a king who was tall and hand- 
some. He said, " I have not chosen this man." Samuel looked at the six 
other sons also, but God had chosen none of them. Then Samuel said to 
Jesse, " Where is thy youngest son? Call him, for we must have him here." 

Then Jesse sent out to the field, and brought in his youngest son. 
His name was David. David was young ; he too was beautiful ; but God 
did not choose him for his beauty. David loved God, and he wished and 
prayed to love him more. When David was alone in the fields keeping 
his sheep, he liked to think of God. And then, David used to pray, and 
to play upon his harp, and sing beautiful hymns of praise to God. How 
pleasant it is when young people begin to love and serve the Lord early, 
as David did ! When David came into his father's house, God said to 
Samuel, " Anoint him ; this is the king I have chosen." Then Samuel 
poured oil upon David's head, and anointed him ; and all his brothers 
looked on. 

The Israelites' old enemies, the Philistines, now came to fight against 
them again. They pitched their tents on a high mountain, and Saul and 
his army stood upon another mountain opposite, and there was a vallejr 
between the two armies. The Philistines had with them a very bold com- 
mander, a great giant, named Goliath. He was very tall, and covered with 



188 THE STORY OF DAVID. 

thick armor ; arid he had a great sword, and shield, and spear : and he 
stood, and cried to the army of Israel, " Why do you come to fight against 
me? If you can, choose a man, and let him come and fight me, and try 
to kill me." The Israelites were much frightened when they heard the 
proud Philistine speak thus, and Saul was frightened also. 

Then David came to the king, spoke very boldly, for God made him 
bold, and said, " Do not fear this great Philistine ; I am ready to go and 
fight him." But Saul said, "Thou hast not power to conquer him; thou 
art young, and he is very strong, and has been used to fighting all his 
life." David answered, "I am a shepherd, and I keep my father's sheep 
in Bethlehem. One day, a lion and a bear came to my flock, and took 
away a lamb, and I ran, and killed the lion and the bear, and saved the 
lamb, and took it out of the lion's mouth, and brought it back to the fold. 
It was God who gave me strength to kill those great animals, and I 
know he will give me power now to conquer this wicked Philistine. God 
is with us, and he will deliver us from our enemies." Then Saul said, 
" Go, and the Lord be with thee." Saul gave David all his armor, a 
helmet, and a spear, and a sword. But David said, " No, I do not want 
these ; I have not been used to them." 

So he took them all off, and chose five smooth stones, and put them 
into his shepherd's bag; and he took a sling, and a staff, and went to 
meet the giant. Then the Philistine came out, but when he saw David, 
he laughed at him, and said, " Canst thou conquer me ? Come to me, and 
1 will give thy flesh to the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field ! " 
But David answered, " Thou comest to me with a sword, and a spear, and 
a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 
I know that thou art very strong, and that I am weak, and unable of 
myself to fight thee; but God is with me, and he is stronger than thou. 
He will give me power to conquer and kill thee ; for he can fight without 
swords and spears, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into 
our hands." 

Then David ran to meet his great enemy. He took a stone, and 
put it into his sling, and slung it ; and the stone went into the forehead 
of the giant, and he fell down on the ground. Then David ran to the 
Philistine, and stood upon him, and took the sword of the giant, and slew 
him, and cut off his head; for David had no sword of his own. Then all 
the Philistines, when they saw that their commander was dead, fled ; and 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



189 



David, without armor 



the Israelites followed, and killed very many of them. The Israelites 
returned shouting for joy, and David took the giant's head, and brought 
it to Jerusalem. 

How could young 
Philistine? It was not 
David's strength, nor his 
sling, nor his stone, that 
gained the victory ; they 
had no power ; it was 
David's God who con- 
quered, and he alone. 
David looked in faith to 
God for help, and he gave 
him the victory. We have 
enemies to fight too ; not 
great soldiers like Goliath, 
but enemies who fight 
against our souls. We 
must fight in God's 
strength, not in our own. 
We must ask God to fight 
for us, and then we shall 
be enabled to conquer and 
gain the victory. 

Saul now began to 
hate David. Why? Be- 
cause he was jealous of 
him, for he thought the 
people loved David more 
than they loved himself. 
After the battle and the 
victory, when Saul and all Goliath slain by david. 

his people were going home, tne women came out to meet them ; and they 
sang, and played, and danced, and shouted for joy. They sang, " Saul has 
slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands." This made the king 
very angry. He thought they gave very little honor to him, and a great deal 
of honor to David, and that they loved David best, and would make him king. 




190 



THE STORY OF DAVID 



So Saul grew very jealous, aud looked unkindly at David; though 
David had done no wrong. Jealousy is a very great sin. Y/e ought to be 
glad to see good people honored and loved. It is very wrong to want to 
have all the praise ourselves, and to feel angry when others are praised. 

We ought to ask God to 
take jealousy and selfish- 
ness out of our hearts. 

The next day the 
evil spirit ccmie into Saul 
again; and David took his 
harp and began to play, 
and tried to quiet hiin. 
But David's harp did not 
take away Saul's passion 
now. Saul had a spear in 
his hand, and he tried to 
throw it at David while 
he played ; but David 
turned away, and the spear 
passed without hurting 
him. When Saul saw that 
God was David's friend, 
he was afraid ; he could 
not kill David, but he sent 
him away, because he did 
not like to see him. He 
made David captain over 
the soldiers ; and they 
all loved him, and the 
people loved him ; and God 
loved him too, and kept 
SAUL attempting To kill david. him, wherever he went. 

There was a man who lived at Maon, named Nabal. He was very 
rich, and had great possessions in Carmel : sheep, and goats, and asses, 
and camels. He lived near the place where David now was, and he was 
shearing his sheep in Carmel. David knew that Nabal was very rich, and 
lie sent messengers to him, to ask for food. David's servants spoke veiy 




THE STORY OF DAVID. 



191 



respectfully to Nabal ; they did not rudely ask for what they wanted ; for 
David taught them to honor and respect all men. But Nabal was a selfish 
and cruel man. He did not care for other people ; he tried only to please 
himself. All his money and all his possessions he kept for his own use ; 
he never thought about 
the poor and hungr}^ who 
had no food and no home. 

Nabal was angry 
with David's servants ; 
instead of giving them any 
thing he drove them away 
in a passion, and sent them 
back again to David. 
When David heard of 
Nabal's unkindness and 
passion, he was angry too. 
Was David right to be 
angry ? No ; he ought to 
have been patient and for- 
giving, as he was when 
Saul was unkind to him. 

So David told his 
men to take their swords, 
and he made all ready to 
go to Nabal to kill him, 
because he had been un- 
kind and selfish and cruel. 
But Nabal had a wife 
named Abigail. She was 
not like her husband ; she 
was gentle, and kind, and 
willing to give away what Abigail bringing presents to david. 

she could. When Abigail heard about Nabal's cruelty she was very sorry. 
She knew that David was a good man, and that he was in great trouble, 
and trying to hide from Saul ; and Abigail wished to be kind to him and 
his men. So she called her servants and told them to make ready some 
sheep, and corn, and figs, and grapes, and to put them upon asses, 




192 THE STORY OF DAVID. 

and take them to David ; and she followed, but she did not tell Nabal 
where she was going. 

When Abigail met with David, she came down from the ass, and 
fell on her face before him. Then she spoke very gently to David, and 
asked him not to be angry, but to forgive her wicked husband. Abigail 
loved God ; and she told David how wrong it is to be passionate and angry ; 
but she spoke very respectfully when she said this, and reminded David 
that God could preserve him, and punish his enemies ; and that, therefore, 
he must be patient and leave all to God. 

When David heard Abigail talk so gently, he became gentle too. 
He felt he had done wrong, and he thanked God for sending Abigail .to 
keep him from shedding blood. So Abigail gave the present to David, and 
he thanked her, and she went home. And David and his men had food to 
eat now, without fighting and shedding blood. It was not right for 
David to punish Nabal, but God punished him. God must punish our 
enemies, not we. 

When Abigail came home she found Nabal making a great feast 
with his friends. They were eating and drinking, and very merry. It 
was wicked merriment. They loved their own pleasure and ease ; but they 
did not think of their poor hungry neighbors ; they did not care for God, 
nor holy things : all their thoughts were about this world ; eating and 
drinking, and pleasing themselves. 

Abigail did not stay with this wicked company ; she did not speak 
to Nabal then, but next morning she told him about David, and all that 
she had done. Nabal felt frightened and unhappy at what his wife said. 
He knew he had done wrong; but Abigail's reproof did not make him 
repent and turn to God. He had no comfort now. His riches and his 
worldly company could do him no good ; and God was not his friend. He 
lived only ten days after. 

Where was Saul this long time? He was still at his house, 
unhappy and discontented ; the evil spirit troubling him more and more. 
The Philistines now came to fight against Israel, and Saul gathered 
together all his soldiers at Gilboa. But he felt much frightened when he 
looked upon the army of his enemies, for he knew that he had not God 
to fight for him. 

Saul went and asked God to help him ; but had no answer. Saul 
had forsaken God; now God forsook him. Saul had no answer, because 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



lie did uot pray humbly ; he was not truly sorry for his siu. He was 
frightened and miserable, but he was not penitent and humble. God 
promises always to answer sincere prayers; but Saul's prayer was careless 
and insincere ; and, therefore, God would not attend to it. 

What could Saul do now? Where did he go for help? Did he 
pray again . to God, and 
ask for a new heart, and 
a right spirit? No, Saul 
was soon tired of prayer, 
for he did not care for 
God's blessing and for- 
giveness. He called his 
servants, and asked them 
if they knew a witch who 
could tell him what he 
wanted to know. The 
witches were wicked wo- 
men who pretended to 
have the power of raising 
dead people, and of fore- 
telling future things. God 
had commanded them to 
be put to death. But Saul 
was now grown so foolish, 
and so wicked, that he 
wished to ask advice of a 
witch, and not of God, nor 
of his holy prophets. 

Saul's servants told 
him there was a witch 
living at Endor ; so he 
changed his dress, that 
people might not know SAUL and THE witch of endor. 

him, and went secretly, by night, to Endor. Saul came to the house where 
this wicked woman lived, and asked her to raise a dead man to life for 
him. The woman did not know Saul ; and she refused at first to do what 
he wished, for she was afraid of being put to death. But Saul told hei 




194 THE STORY OF DAVID. 

not to fear; and promised she should not be punished. Then she said, 
"Whom shall I bring up?" And Saul told her to bring up Samuel. The 
foolish woman had no power to raise Samuel. 

But God showed his power by causing a figure like Samuel to come 
up, and speak to Saul. When the woman saw the figure coming up out 
of the ground, she was very much frightened, and cried out for fear. Then 
Saul looked too. What did he see ? He saw the figure of an old man ; 
he thought it was Samuel, and he bowed down to the ground. Then the 
figure asked, "Why hast thou called me up?" Saul said, "I am sore 
distressed; the Philistines make war against me; God is gone from me; 
and answers me no more, and I have called thee to tell me what I shall 
do." Then the figure said, "Why dost thou ask of me, if the Lord is 
thine enemy? He has departed from thee, and given the kingdom to David, 
because thou obeyedst not his voice. The Philistines will fight against 
Israel ; and Israel will be conquered ; and to-morrow thou and thy sons 
shall be with me." 

What did Saul do? He fell down on the ground in fear and 
horror. He was very miserable ; he had now no hope ; to-morrow he must 
die ; his body must fall on the battle-field ; and where must his soul go ? 
Could it go to Heaven ? No ; he was not ready for Heaven. Satan was 
in his heart, not God's Holy Spirit. 

The woman understood now who Saul was ; and she and his ser- 
vants tried to comfort him. She spoke kindly to him ; and made ready 
some meat and bread for him to eat. But could all this do Saul any good 
now ? No ; he was going to die, and God alone can comfort people in death. 
But Saul could not go to God for comfort. It was too late ; he had forsaken 
God, and God had cast him off for ever. 

Saul arose from the ground, and ate what the woman made ready, 
and then he and his servants went away. The next day, in battle, he died 
by falling on his own sword. 

Was David now king of all Israel? No; seven years he reigned 
only over Judah ; Saul had left a son, named Ish-bosheth ; and Abner, the 
captain, took Ish-bosheth and made him king over Israel. There was a 
long war between the party of Ish-bosheth and the party of David. Abner 
was captain of Ish-bosheth's soldiers, and Joab was captian of David's soldiers. 

David wanted peace in his kingdom ; but he knew that all his 
enemies must first be conquered, because God had told him this, and 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



195 



promised to fight for hiin, and give him the victory. David grew stronger 
and stronger every day: and Ish-bosheth grew weaker and weaker. Abner 
knew that David was God's chosen king ; and he sent to him, and prom- 
ised to help him to reign over the whole kingdom, Israel as well as Judah. 

So David and Abner 
made peace, and feasted 
together at Hebron. But 
Joab, David's captain, 
hated Abner, and did not 
like David to make peace 
with him. Why ? Because 
Abner had killed Asahel, 
Joab's brother, in a quarrel, 
some time before; and Joab 
had not forgiven Abner. 
So when Abner went away, 
Joab followed, and called 
him, and pretended to 
speak kindly to him ; but 
Joab had a sword, and he 
drew it out, and thrust it 
into Abner's side. Abner 
fell down dead directly ; 
and the people came and 
told David. 

David was angry 
with Joab. and sorry for 
Abner. All the people 
mourned; and when Abner 
was buried, David himself 
followed the dead body to 
the grave. Did David abner slain by joab. 

punish Joab for the murder ? No, he was afraid ; he thought he had not 
enough power to do - so ; but he never forgot Joab's wickedness ; he said, 
God would punish him, though he could not. 

Soon after Abner's death, there was another sad murder in Israel., 
Ish-bosheth was killed in his bed, by two men who came into his house 




196 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



pretending to get corn. The wicked murderers cut off the head of Ish- 
bosheth, and brought it to David, and said, " See, here is the head of the 
son of thine enemy Saul." 

The men thought this would please David ; but he commanded that 

the murderers should be 
slain ; so David's servants 
killed the two wicked 
men, and hung them up 
in Hebron ; but the head 
of Ish-bosheth they buried 
honorably in Abner's 
tomb. David was right to 
punish the men who killed 
Ish-bosheth, because God 
has commanded that mur- 
derers shall be put to 
death. 

Who reigned over 
Israel after Ish-bosheth 
was dead? David. The 
tribes of Israel all came 
to him, and asked him 
to be their king. David 
now ruled over a large 
country, and had great 
possessions. Some years 
before, he was a poor 
shepherd boy ; now he 
was a great king. 

God loved David, 
and he gave him honor; 
ISH-BOSHETH SLAIN BY HIS SERVANTS. but God does not always 

honor those he loves in this world. Sometimes his people are poor, and 
have no possessions ; perhaps they have not even food and clothing. He 
sees it best not to give riches and honors to all his people here: and he 
knows that riches and honors cannot make them happy. But God has 
riches to give all his people in heaven. 




THE STORY OF DAVID. 197 

What was the first thing King David did? His enemies, the Jeb- 
usites, had possession of Jerusalem, and he went there and smote them, 
and took the city. David then began to feel safe, and his power grew 
greater and greater every day ; for God blessed David in all things, and 
gave him victory, and strength, and riches. It is God who gives us all 
the good things we have. Let us thank him for his kindness, and ask him 
to give us his blessing too, because that alone can make us truly happy. 

The Philistines now came again to fight against David. He remem- 
bered that God had promised to protect him ; so before he began to fight 
against the Philistines, he asked God, " Shall I go up against the Philistines ? 
Wilt thou deliver them into my hand ? " And God said, " Go up, I will 
deliver them into thy hand." Then David went, and did as God commanded 
him ; and soon he gained the victory over his enemies. 

When David was safe and happy, did he forget God, and begin to love 
worldly things better than holy things ? No ; when all his enemies were 
conquered, and his kingdom safe, the first thing he remembered was God's 
holy ark. The ark was still at Kirjath-Jearim, in the house of Abinadab, 
who had kept it many years ; but David wanted to have it now in his own 
city of Jerusalem; so he went with many of his people to Kirjath-Jearim 
to bring it back. They came to Abinadab's house, and took out the ark, and 
put it in a new cart ; and Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab's sons, drove the cart. 

Then David and all the people were very glad; and they went with 
the ark, playing and singing for joy. After a little time, they came to a 
rough place, and the oxen that drew the cart stumbled, and shook the ark. 
When Uzzah saw the ark shaken, he was afraid it might fall, and he put 
out his hand, and took hold of it. But Uzzah forgot how very holy the 
ark was ; he did not honor it as he ought, and God punished him, and 
struck him dead directly. Many years before, God had punished the men 
of Bethshemesh, because they looked into the ark ; and so now God pun- 
ished Uzzah. He did not need Uzzah so irreverently to take hold of the 
holy ark ; he himself could keep it safely. 

Uzzah's death was a sad end to David's happiness. All the people 
were frightened, and David said, he would not have the ark with him now. 
Was he right not to want now to have the ark ? No : he was wrong to 
be so much afraid ; God did not wish to frighten and trouble his people ; 
he only wished to teach them to honor and reverence his holy things. 

But there was a good man named Obed-edom, who was not afraid 



198 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



to have the ark ; so it was carried to his house. Obed-etfom was very 
happy when he had the ark, because God's blessing came with it. All 
was right at Obed-edom's house when the ark was there. 

When David heard that God had blessed Obed-edom, he was no 

longer afraid of the ark ; 
so he went to the house 
where it was, and took 
it away; but the priests 
carried it upon their 
shoulders. David had 
learned to be more rever- 
ent, and to teach his peo- 
ple to be reverent too. 

When the ark had 
gone a very little way, 
David offered sacrifices 
to God. He asked for 
God's blessing first, and 
then he went on safely, 
knowing that God was 
with him. David and all 
the people brought the 
ark home ; and the king 
was so happy that he 
danced for joy. 

The ark was put 
in a tabernacle which 
David made for it; and 
then he offered sacrifices 
again, and blessed the 
people, and gave them 
bread, and wine, and meat, 
and sent them away. It was a happy, holy day at Jerusalem. Why 
were they all so joyful? Because they had the ark with them again. 
The feasting, and singing, and shouting, were all holy; the people did 
everything that day in the fear and honor of God; and then they had 
his blessing, and that made them happy. 




DAVID DANCING BEFORE THE ARK 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



199 



We are now going to read a very sad story about David. There 
was a man named Uriah, who had a wife named Bathsheba. Bathsheba 
was very beautiful; and David loved her very much, and wanted to marry 
her ; but he knew he must not, because she was Uriah's wife. God says, 
" Thou shalt not covet thy 
neighbor's wife ; " and it 
was very wicked of David 
to do what God had com- 
manded him not to do. 
But David did not then 
ask God to help him 
resist sin, and, therefore, 
he soon became more 
wicked still. He wished 
Uriah were dead. He 
could not put him to 
death; but he sent him to 
fight, and hoped he would 
be killed in the battle. 

The Israelites were 
then fighting with the 
Ammonites, and Joab was 
captain of David's sol- 
diers; so David wrote a 
letter to Joab, and said, 
"Set Uriah in the battle; 
let him stand in the front, 
and do not help him; but 
l^ave him alone, that he 
may be smitten and die." 
Then David sent for Uriah , 
and pretended to be very NATHAN REPROVING david for his sin. 

kind to him ; and gave him the letter, and told him to go to Joab. 

When Joab had finished reading the letter, he called Uriah, and told 
him to stand in front of the battle, in a dangerous place. Uriah did not know 
why he was to stand there; but he did as Joab commanded; and soon he was 
slain by his enemies, and fell down dead. Then Joab sent and told David. 




200 THE STORY OF DAVID. 

Was David sorry? No, he was glad; because he could now do as 
he wished, and marry Bathsheba. Satan was tempting David, and David 
was not trying to resist the temptation. He did not ask help from God ; 
so God turned away from David, and left him to himself. Bathsheba 
mourned for her husband some time ; and when the mourning was past, 
David sent for her, and married her, and she became his wife. 

One day Nathan the prophet came to see David. Nathan did not 
now bring a message of love from God ; he had something very sad to say 
to David; but he did not at once tell him about his wickedness, for God 
wanted David himself to feel and confess his sin. Nathan began by telling 
this story to David. 

He said: "There were two men living in a city; one was rich and 
had great possessions — sheep, and oxen, and cattle. The other man was 
very poor ; he had only one little lamb. He loved this lamb very much ; 
it ate out of his hand ; drank out of his cup, and lay in his bosom, and 
was unto him as a daughter. One day a friend came to see the rich man 
and to eat with him. But the rich man would not kill his own sheep ; he 
went to the poor man's house, and took away the little lamb, and killed 
it, and dressed it for his friend." 

When Nathan had finished the story, David said angrily, " The 
man who has done this shall surely die, because he had no pity." Then 
Nathan looked at David and said, " Thou art the man. God gave thee 
riches and possessions ; many, many things. But what hast thou done ? 
Thou hast killed Uriah with the swcrd, and taken away his wife to be 
thy wife. And now God must punish thee, the sword shall never depart 
from thy house. Thou hast sinned secretly ; but God saw the sin, and he 
will punish it openly." 

David now felt his wickedness ; he felt how sad it is to displease 
God. He did not try to deny nor excuse his sin ; but he confessed hum- 
bly at once, " I have sinned against the Lord." 

David now had new troubles. When he was young, he was troubled 
by Saul; when he was old, he was troubled by his own children. God 
sent sorrow to David now to punish his sin. Sin is always the cause of 
sorrow. 

David had many sons ; and some of them were very wicked. One 
was named Absalom, and another Amnon. These two brothers did not live 
in love and peace together; Absalom hated Amnon, and would not speak 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



201 



to him. Hatred was in the heart of Absalom a long time, and it grew 
stronger and stronger, till at last he determined to kill his brother Amnon ; 
for he could not rest while he lived. 

Hatred often ends in murder. The Bible says, " He that hateth his 
brother is a murderer." 
When we feel anger be- 
ginning to rise in our 
hearts, we ought to ask God 
to take it away, and make 
us full of love. We cannot 
tell how hatred may end. 

How did Absalom 
kill his brother? He 
thought he would kill him 
slyly, without his father's 
knowledge ; so he made a 
great feast and invited all 
his brothers ; and com- 
manded his servants to 
kill Amnon when he came. 
Amnon came to the feast. 
And when they were all 
merry, the servants rushed 
in, and smote Amnon, and 
killed him. All his broth- 
ers were frightened, and 
fled; and Absalom fled 
too, because he was afraid 
that David might punish 
him for the murder. 

The king soon heard 
the sad story ; and he arose, ABSALOM CAUSES amnon to be SEAIN. 

and rent his clothes, and lay on the ground, and wept; and all his sons 
wept too. Where was Absalom ? He escaped to Geshur, and staid there three 
years. David did not see him all that time. One son was gone away; and 
another son was dead. David mourned for them both. At last Joab came 
to the king and begged that Absalom might come home. David wanted 




202 THE STORY OF DAVID. 

to forgive his wicked sou, for lie still loved him; so he told Joab to send 
and bring Absalom from Geshur. 

But David would not see his son; so Absalom staid at his own 
house in Jerusalem. Was David right to let Absalom come back? No; 
Absalom was a wicked murderer, and God had commanded murderers to 
be put to death ; but David loved Absalom, and spared him. All the 
people admired him, and liked to look at him. 

Absalom pretended to be sorry, but he was not truly so; his heart 
was full of pride and rebellion still. Soon after, he prepared chariots and 
horses, and fifty men to run before him. And when he saw the people 
going to the king for judgment, he often called to them, and spoke kindly 
to them, and asked them what they wanted; for Absalom wished to make 
the people love him more than they loved his father. He wanted to be 
king himself; and said he should be a better king than David. 

The people attended to what Absalom said, and many of them 
promised to obey and love him as their king. David knew nothing about 
this, for Absalom was very sly, and deceived his father. He said to David, 
"Let me go now and pay my vow in Hebron: for I vowed when I was 
in Geshur, that if the Lord would bring me back to Jerusalem, then I 
would serve him." David was pleased to hear this ; for he hoped his dis- 
obedient son was going to begin to love and serve the Lord; so he said 
to Absalom, " Go in peace." 

Why did Absalom go to Hebron? Not to offer sacrifice; not to 
worship God : he went there to make himself king. He told the people 
when they heard the trumpet to shout and say, " Absalom reigns in 
Hebron." Very many of the people were in the conspiracy, but a few 
were still faithful to David ; and a messenger came and told him the news 
about his wicked son's rebellion. 

What could David do ? He had very little time to think ; for 
Absalom might soon come to Jerusalem and kill him and the faithful 
people. So David said, " Let us arise and flee." All David's servants 
were ready to follow him ; and they went away from Jerusalem as fast as 
possible, and came to Mount Olivet. 

Then David went on to Bahurim, where he had a new sorrow. A 
wicked man named Shimei came out, and cursed him, and threw stones 
at him, and said God was punishing him now for all his cruelty to Saul : 
aud would take away the kingdom and give it to Absalom. This wicked 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



203 



man did not speak the truth. God was indeed punishing David, but 
not because David was cruel to Saul. He was punishing him for mur- 
dering Uriah. 

David's friends were very angry with Shim ii : they did not like 
to hear their master so 



cruelly accused, and they 
said they would kill this 
wicked man. But David 
would not let them. He 
knew all these troubles 
came from God, and he 
humbly submitted to him. 
So David and his men went 
on quietly, without attend- 
ing to Shimei. Shimei's 
curses could not hurt 
David because God was 
his friend, and took care of 
him still. He was safe in 
God's hands ; for God pun- 
ished him in love to make 
him humble and holy. 
And David knew this. 

Where was Absa- 
lom now ? He went to 
Jerusalem to his father's 
house, and there he con- 
sulted with his friends 
what he should do. There 
was a friend of David with 
Absalom, named Hushai. 
Hushai pretended to be 




DAVID STONED BY SHIMEI. 
all the wicked prince said 



Absalom's friend, and listened to all the wicked prince said; and when 
he found that Absalom was determined to go to battle against his father, 
he told the priests, and they told David. So David made his soldiers ready 
to go and fight against Absalom. 

David must fight against his own son! But he still loved his son, 



204 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



and he told the captains to be gentle with wicked Absalom. The battle 
was in the wood of Hphraim. David's soldiers soon conquered the rebellious 
people ; and twenty thousand were slain. Absalom rode upon a mule, and 
tried to escape ; but as he went through the wood, his long hair caught in 

the branches of an oak, 
and "he was taken up 
between the heaven and 
the earth. " The mule went 
away, and Absalom hung 
in the oak ; so that he 
could not escape. 

One of David's sol- 
diers saw Absalom hang- 
ing, but the man did not 
hurt him, because he re- 
membered David's com- 
mand ; but he told Joab ; 
and Joab took three darts, 
and went to the tree where 
Absalom hung, and smote 
him, and killed him. So 
the battle was ended, and 
David's soldiers had the 
victory. 

But where was Da- 
vid himself? He did not 
see the battle. He was 
waiting by the gate of 
the city Mahanaim to 
hear the news ; and the 
watchman went up to 
the top of the wall to 
look. At last the watchman saw a man running, and he told the king. 
Then David began to tremble ; he felt very much afraid. Soon after 
another man was seen running. The first soon came to David, and fell 
down, and said, " God has- delivered up the men who lifted their hand 
against the king." But David thought most about his son ; and he asked, 




THE DEATH OF ABSALOM 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 205 

"Is the young man Absalom safe?" The messenger said, " I cannot tell." 
Then the other man came to David, and said, " The Lord has avenged 
thee this day of all them that rose up against thee." But David could 
not attend to the victory ; he thought only about Absalom, and he cried 
again, " Is the young man Absalom safe?" 

The messenger did not wish to grieve the king ; he could not then 
tell him the whole of the sad story ; he only said, " May the king's 
enemies all be as that young man is now." David understood what this 
meant ; he knew how it was with Absalom ; and he could not bear to hear 
more. He arose directly and went to his own room, for he wished to be 
alone ; and as he went up, he cried very, very sorrowfully, " O my son 
Absalom, my son, my son Absalom ! O Absalom, my son, my son ! " 

One day a messenger came to David. It was Gad, the prophet of 
the Lord; and he brought a very sad message. He said, God had sent 
him to say, that he must punish David for his sin ; and he offered him 
one of these three punishments : three years' famine, or three months to be 
destroyed before his enemies ; or three days' plague in the land ; and David 
was to choose which it should be. David felt it hard to make a choice, 
but he submitted patiently to God's will ; for he knew it was right that 
his sin should be punished. But what did he choose ? He said, " Let us 
fall into the hand of God, for his mercy is great, and let us not fall into 
the hand of man." Then Gad understood that David chose the plague. 

It was a fearful time for Israel when God sent the destroying angel 
among them. David had been proud of the number of his subjects, and 
now God took very many of them away to humble David's pride. But did 
the Israelites deserve to be punished ? Yes ; they too had displeased God : 
and they were punished, as well as their king. 

Three days the dreadful plague lasted in Canaan. The angel went 
through the country, destroying wherever he went ; and, at last, he came 
to Jerusalem, where David lived. David looked up, and saw the angel 
standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand. The 
sword was over Jerusalem, ready to strike and destroy it. Then David fell 
on his face before God, and cried for mercy. He knew how merciful God 
was, and that he did not wish to destroy all his people ; that he is more 
willing to forgive than to punish ; so David said, "It is I who sinned ; I 
commanded the people to be numbered : I have done wickedly. Punish 
me, but spare my people, for what have they done?" And did God hear 



206 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



David's prayer ? Yes ; he sent Gad again with a kind message to David. 

God said that David must build an altar, and offer up sacrifices ; and then 

he promised to forgive. 

And now the time came for David to die; so he called his dear son 

Solomon, to give him his 
last commands, and to bid 
him farewell. David told 
Solomon to remember that 
wicked man Joab, and 
punish him as a murderer, 
because he killed Abner, 
many years before, and 
deserved to die. And Shi- 
mei, too, who had cursed 
David, was to be pun- 
ished as Solomon should 
think right. 

But David charged 
Solomon to be kind to 
Barzillai, who had been 
so kind to David when 
he was in sorrow and 
trouble. Did David feel 
angry and revengeful when 
he was dying? No; but 
he knew that wicked men 
must be punished, because 
this is God's command. 
Good kings must be just ; 
they must punish those 
who disobey God's laws. 
CESSATION OF THE PLAGUE. D id David say anything 

more to Solomon ? Yes ; for David felt very anxious about him. 

He wished him to love and serve God, and to teach his people in 
the right way; and David knew that Solomon could not reign well, if God 
did not help and bless him. So David spoke very affectionately, and very 
solemnly to Solomon, and said, " My son, know thou the God of thy fathers 




KING SOLOMON. 207 

my God who lias kept me all my life long. Serve him with all thy heart, 
sincerely and willingly; for God knows the heart. He knows who truly love 
him, and who only pretend to love him. He is ready to hear thy prayer; 
and if thou seek him, thou shalt find him ; but if thou forsake him, he 
will cast thee off for ever." Then David looked up to Heaven, and sang a 
beautiful song of praise to God. All his troubles were ended now ; God 
was with him ; he closed his eyes in peace, and his happy soul went to be 
tor ever in Heaven, far away from all sin and sorrow. 

KING SOLOMON. 

SOLOMON was now king. His reign was a very happy one; not 
like David's, full of sorrow and trouble. But some sad things 
happened in the beginning of Solomon's reign. Adonijah rebelled 
again, and was put to death. Joab, too, was slain, because he was in 
Adonijah's conspiracy, and because of the murders he had formerly com- 
mitted. Abiathar was sent away. Solomon could not let him be priest 
any longer, for he also had rebelled with Adonijah; but Solomon did not 
put him to death, because he had once been a kind friend to David. Was 
Shimei killed ? Not at first ; Solomon commanded him to stay quietly at 
his own house in Jerusalem, and promised him safety there; but if he went 
away from Jerusalem, Solomon told him he should die. Shimei stayed at 
his house three years ; and then he disobeyed the king, and went to 
Achish, at Gath. 

Shimei soon returned to Jerusalem ; but he had disobeyed Solomon, 
and therefore he was slain. All this was very sad, but we know it was 
right for these wicked men to die. Sin must be punished. Perhaps God 
does not punish it directly; he waits many years ; he gives time for repent- 
ance; for he does not wish people to die in their wickedness. God is ready 
to save all, and he will forgive the most wicked people, if they repent and 
turn to him. But if not, he cannot wait for ever. He cannot forget sin 
which is unrepented of, and unforgiven ; not washed away in the blood of 
Jesus. At last he will punish all rebellious sinners, as he punished wicked 
Adonijah, and Joab, and Shimei, after so many years. 

All was quiet now: Solomon could reign in peace, because his 
wicked enemies were dead. And did he remember all that his father had 
told him ? Did he try to serve God, and to teach his people to serve him 



208 



KING SOLOMON. 



too? Yes, Solomon loved the Lord. He was young, and did not yet know 
much ; but he wished and prayed to know more. 

Solomon went to Gibeon, to sacrifice there. The tabernacle which 
Moses made, was at Gibeon, and the brazen altar. But the ark was at 

Jerusalem, in the tent 
which David had made for 
it. Solomon offered a thou- 
sand burnt-offerings upon 
the altar at Gibeon. He 
had great possessions, and 
lie liked to give much of 
what he bad to God. He 
wanted to show bis love 
and his thankfulness to 
him. And Solomon offered 
his sacrifices in faith. 

When tbe sacrifices 
were ended, and Sojomon 
lay down to sleep, God 
appeared to him in a dream. 
God came to encourage 
and to comfort young Solo- 
mon. He spoke to him, 
and said, " Ask, what I 
shall give thee." How 
kind God was, to promise 
Solomon to give him what 
he asked ! What did Solo- 
mon choose ? Did he 
choose riches, or posses- 
sions, or honors ? No, he 
wanted what was better 
than these. He knew that worldly things must soon pass away; he wished 
for something which he could never, never lose. He said, " Lord, I am 
very young and ignorant. I have no power to teach my people in the 
right way. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, a wise and understanding 
heart ; that I may know how to rule my people as it shall please thee." 




SOLOMON ASKS WISDOM FROM GOD. 



KING SOLOMON. 



209 



Did God give Solomon what he asked? Yes; God was pleased with 
his choice. Solomon had asked for the best thing ; heavenly wisdom, not 
worldly possessions. God said, " I have given thee wisdom and under- 
standing : and I will give thee more ; I will give thee what thou hast not 
asked ; riches, and posses- 
sions, and honors : and if 
thou wilt serve me, and 
obey my commands, I will 
bless thee, and keep thee 
all thy life long." Then 
Solomon awoke, and found 
it was a dream. But how 
happy he felt now ! God 
was with him ; he had 
heard his prayer, and 
promised to love and bless 
him, and to be his friend. 

Solomon went to 
Jerusalem, and there of- 
fered more sacrifices to 
the Lord. And now he 
began to show his great 
wisdom. Two women came 
to the king for judgment. 
They had with them 
two little babes. One 
was alive and well, but 
the other was dead. The 
w )tuen were angry, and 
quarrelling with each 
other. One said, " O my 
lord, I and this woman the judgment of Solomon. 

live together in one house. We had each a little son. Her child died in 
the night ; and when she found it was dead, she brought it to me, and 
laid it in my arms, when I was asleep, and stole away my own baby from 
me; and when I awoke, and looked at the dead child in my arms, I knew it 
was not mine." But the other cried angrily, " The living child is mine." 

14 




210 KING SOLOMON. 

So they spoke before the king. It was sad to see them so angry 
and passionate, but what could Solomon do ? How could ' he know the 
right mother of the living child? His wonderful wisdom which God had 
given him, helped Solomon to judge rightly. He said, "Bring me a sword." 
His servants brought the sword, aud then Solomon said, " Divide the living 
child in two, and give half to one woman, and half to the other." Was 
Solomon cruel ? No, he wanted to know who was the right mother. He 
knew she would be very sorry to see her child killed, and would cry to 
have it saved ; but the other woman, who was not the true mother, would 
not care so much. And he thought rightly. The true mother cried, "Oh, 
do not divide the child. Give it to the other woman, she may have it all; 
but O do not kill it." 

But the other woman said, "Yes, let it be divided;" for she did not 
care much for the baby, because it was not her own child. Then Solomon 
said, " I know now who is the right mother of the living child. It is the 
woman who loves it so much that she cannot bear to have it killed. Give 
her the child, and let them go." So Solomon gave the living babe to the 
right mother, and sent tb<=: women away ; and all the people wondered at 
Solomon's wisdom. 

Was Solomon a very happy king? Yes, he had much to make him 
happy. He had riches, and possessions, and honors, and knowledge. 
Could these things make him truly happy ? No, but Solomon had some- 
thing more and better than all ; he had God's love and blessing. Solomon 
was very wise ; he understood many things, and wrote many learned 
books. He wrote about animals, and trees, and flowers. He knew the 
names and the histories of them all. 

It is very pleasant to have much knowledge ; and when we learn 
about the wonderful works of God, the beautiful animals and plants around 
us, and the sun, and moon, and stars, which we see shining so brightly 
in the sky, we should praise God who gave them all to us, and thank 
and bless him. It is right to wish for knowledge, and children ought to 
be very attentive to those who teach them, and very anxious to become 
wise. But we must not be proud of what we know. 

Solomon knew more than any man ever knew, but he was not 
proud. None of us know much. We are all ignorant, and we ought all 
to be humble. God alone knows all things — the past, the present, the 
future — every thing, every where he knows. How wonderful God is ! But 



KING SOLOMON. 211 

what is the best knowledge, the best wisdom ? The knowledge of God 
and of heavenly things. All earthly wisdom must soon end ; bnt holy, 
heavenly wisdom will last for ever. If we ask God for this, he will teach 
us more and more of it while we live ; and, at last, take us to heaven, 
where we shall know and see things which we cannot understand here. 

Solomon now began to think of David's command, and prepared to 
build the temple of God. He wrote to Hiram, the king of Tyre, to tell 
him what he wished to do. Solomon asked Hiram to send him cedar trees 
from Lebanon, to build the house of the Lord. Then Hiram sent to 
Solomon, saying, " I will do all thy wish, and give thee cedar trees and 
fir trees from the forest in Lebanon. My servants shall cut them down, 
and bring them to the sea ; and I will send them by sea to the place thou 
shalt choose." 

Then Solomon began the work directly. He sent many of his 
servants to Lebanon, to help Hiram's servants to cut down the trees. 
Then all the wood was carried to the sea, and floated down to Joppa ; and 
there Solomon sent hie people to take the wood, and bring it safely to 
Jerusalem. Hiram and Solomon were great friends, and they helped one 
another to work for God's service and glory. Those are the best friends 
who try to help one another to serve God. 

The temple which Solomon made was a very beautiful building. It 
was made of cedar wood, wonderfully carved, and overlaid with gold. 
Within the house was the oracle, the holy place, like the holy of holies 
in the tabernacle, where the ark was to be placed. The craclc was divided 
from the other part of the house by doors, beautifully carved, and overlaid 
with gold and a thick veil of red, and purple, and blue hung before the 
oracle. Inside the oracle, Solomon put beautiful golden cherubim, like the 
cherubim in the tabernacle. 

He made, too, an altar of brass, and a great basin or sea, with the 
figures of twelve oxen round the basin ; and ten tables, and ten lavers, 
and ten golden candlesticks. These things were outside the oracle. All 
the holy vessels were made of gold. 

When Solomon had finished the temple, he built a beautiful house 
for himself. He built also many cities, and a house for his queen, and a 
navy of ships. The ships used to go every year to distant countries, to 
bring back gold, and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks. People in 
those distant lands wondered very much when they heard about Solomon's 



212 



KING SOLOMON. 



riches and wisdom. Many came to Jerusalem to see the king, and to heai 
his wisdom ; and they brought presents with them ; gold, and silver, and 
garments, and spices, and horses and mules. 

So Solomon became more and more rich. He had 1,400 chariots, 

and 2,000 horsemen. All 
his vessels were made of 
gold, and his throne was 
of ivory overlaid with gold. 
There were six steps going 
up to the throne, and the 
figures of lionr upon the 
steps, and he had in his 
house many other beauti- 
ful things. He could have 
all he wanted, because he 
was so very rich. 

There was a queen 
who came to see Solomon 
from a very distant coun- 
try. The country where 
she lived is called Sheba 
in the Bible. We do not 
now know a country named 
Sheba; perhaps it was in 
Arabia or Abyssinia. This 
queen heard a great deal 
in her own country about 
Solomon, and she wanted 
to see him. It was a long 
journey to Jerusalem, but 
she did not care for the 
the QUEEN of sheba visiting Solomon. trouble and difficulty, be- 

cause she wished so much to see Solomon. She brought with her a great 
many servants, and camels, and gold, and spices, to give to the king. 
Was Solomon glad to see her? Yes, he was kind to the good queen; he 
showed her all his possessions ; his house, and his throne, and his servants, 
and the temple of God. 




KING SOLOMON. 213 

Then the queen asked him many questions, and he answered them 
all. He told her about the worship and service of the true God ; and of 
all the wonderful things he did for his people Israel. This was new to 
the Queen of Sheba ; she had never heard of these things in her own 
county, and she was glad to learn about them. She attended to all the 
king told her, and after he had finished, she said, "When I was in my 
own country, I heard of thy wisdom ; it was very little I heard there, yet 
I could not then believe it ; but now that I have seen all, I find thy wisdom 
and thy possessions are much, much greater than I thought. Happy are 
thy servants who stand by thee, and hear thy wisdom. Happy are the people 
who have thee for their king, to teach them the knowledge of God ! " 

Then the queen blessed and praised Solomon's God, and Solomon 
gave her everything she wished, and she and her servants returned to 
their own country. And did the good queen forget all the wise and holy 
things she had learned at Jerusalem ; or did she try to teach her people 
at home what Solomon had taught her? The Bible tells us no more 
about her ; but we may hope that she did not forget Solomon's instructions ; 
and that she and many of her people began to serve the true God. 

Solomon was now growing an old man. Did he still love and serve 
God more and more, like good old Samuel and David ? No ; we read very 
sad things about Solomon's old age. He turned away from the true God, 
who had kept and blessed him all his life, and began to worship the idols 
which his wicked wives worshipped. Why was this? How could this good 
and wise king become so wicked and so foolish ? Because he was, like our- 
selves, weak and sinful. All his strength and goodness came from God ; and 
when Solomon forgot to pray for help, then God's Holy Spirit went away 
from him ; and Satan, and his own wicked heart, soon taught him to sin. 

What made him forget God? Perhaps he grew proud of his riches, 
and power, and possessions, and wisdom, and loved them so much, and 
thought about them so much, that he could not love and think about God. 
He loved the world more and more, and God less and less ; and, at last, 
he forsook God altogether, and God forsook him. How sad it is to love 
the world, and to forget God, and to lose his blessing ! Was Solomon 
happy now ? No ; he had no true peace, no comfort from all his worldly 
things. He tried them all. He walked about in his beautiful gardens and 
vineyards ; he gathered and ate the fruit, and smelled the sweet flowers ; 
but soon he grew tired of them, and threw them all away. 



214 



KING SOLOMON. 



Then he went into his fine houses, and looked at his silver and 
gold, and called his servants to play and sing to him. He was pleased 
for a little time, but soon he was weary of this too. Then he remembered 
his wisdom, and went to his books and studies, and he felt pleased to 

think how much he knew. 
But he could not read 
long; he grew tired, and 
put away his books, and 
said, " All is vanity, and 
sorrow, and vexation of 
spirit." Solomon ate and 
drank, but he did not care 
for anything; all was soon 
gone, and then he was 
unhappy and discontented 
again. How unhappy he 
was now with all his 
riches, and all his wis- 
dom! He went about 
from place to place, cry- 
ing, " Vanity ! vanity ! 
all is vanity and vexa- 
tion of spirit." 

And why was this ? 
Because God's blessing 
was not upon Solomon 
now; he had not God's 
smile to make him happy 
in all he did : he was 
not trying to serve God, 
he was trying only to 
please himself. He had 




IDOLATRY OP SOLOMON AND HIS WIVES. 



everything the world could give him, but he found all to be vanity. 

Did Solomon never have true peace and happiness again ? Did he 
never repent and turn to God, and ask for forgiveness ? We may hope he 
did. God loved Solomon, and he would not let him die in his wickedness, 
and perish for ever. When Solomon found that worldly things could not 



KING SOLOMON. 



215 



comfort him, we may liope that he turned again to God, and asked for 
pardon ; and that God forgave him all his sin, and loved, and blessed, and 
comforted him once more. And then Solomon felt what ought to be our 
great business in this world, and he said, " Fear God and keep his com- 
mandments, for this is the 
whole duty of man." 

Solomon reigned 
forty years. His riches 
and power could not save 
him from death. All must 
die. Rich and poor, kings 
and queens, and their peo- 
ple too — all must go down 
to the grave. " Then shall 
the dust return to the 
earth as it was, and the 
spirit shall return to God 
who gave it." 

After the death of 
Solomon, his son Reho- 
boam went to Shechem, 
to be made king. Jero- 
boam heard of this, and 
came from Egypt, and 
called all Israel to him. 
Then Jeroboam and the 
people of Israel sent a 
very disrespectful message 
to Rehoboam, and said, 
'' Thy father Solomon was 
unkind to us, and made 
hard laws which we did rehoboam refusing to remit taxes. 

not like. Do thou be kind, and make easy laws, and then we will serve 
and obey thee." 

When Rehoboam heard this message, he asked the old men, who 
had been his father's friends, to give him advice. The old men said, 
"Speak gently to the people, and then they will be thy servants, and love 




216 KING SOLOMON. 

and obey thee." But Rehoboam did not attend to this good advice of the 
old men. He called his own friends, foolish, self-willed young men, and 
he asked them, "What shall I do?" The young men said, "Speak 
harshly to the people, and tell them that the laws shall be more strict 
now than they were in Solomon's time." Rehoboam attended to this 
foolish advice, and called Jeroboam, and all Israel, and said, " My father's 
laws were strict, but I will make them more strict. He punished you a 
little, I will punish you very much." This answer made Jeroboam and 
the people very angry, and they said, " We will not obey Rehoboam." 
So the people of Israel made Jeroboam their king, and he reigned over ten 
tribes ; but Judah and Benjamin followed Rehoboam. 

But why did God take away ten tribes from Rehoboam ? Because 
of Solomon's sin. God had not forgotten the message he sent to Jeroboam 
by Ahijah. All God says, he remembers, and does; and he must always 
punish sin. 

There were two kings in the land of Canaan now, Rehoboam >\nd 
Jeroboam, and they were always fighting against one another. Were they 
good kings ? No, both were very wicked. Rehoboam was not like his 
father, but foolish and self-willed ; and his people were wicked too, and, 
therefore, God's blessing was not upon them. An enemy came to fight 
against them, Shishak, king of Egypt, and he took many of their cities, 
and came to Jerusalem. Rehoboam and his people felt very much fright- 
ened when they saw Shishak coming with all his soldiers, and chariots, 
and horses. They had cause to fear ; for God sent a very sad message to 
them by a prophet, to tell them how angry he was : — " Thus saith the 
Lord, ye have forsaken me, and now I have given you up to the power of 
your enemies." 

Rehoboam and his people were all very sorry to hear this. What 
could they do ? They did what was best — they humbled themselves before 
God. When we sin and make God angry, we ought to ask humbly for 
pardon. God is always willing to hear prayer. He heard the prayer of 
Rehoboam and his people, and said, " I will not destroy Rehoboam, 
because he is humble and sorry for his sin." So Jerusalem was spared, 
and Shishak went away ; but he took with him many beautiful things 
which Solomon had put in the temple of the Lord. 

Jeroboam was very wicked too. He taught the people to worship 
images, golden calves, which he put in Bethel and Dan. He would .not 



KING SOLOMON. 



217 



let his people go to Jerusalem, to worship God in the right way there; 
but he chose to worship in his own way, and to make priests of the people 
who were not Levites. This was disobedience to the command of God; 
for he had said that the Levites should be priests, and they alone. 

One day, Jeroboam was standing by his altar at Bethel, burning 
incense. A prophet of 
God came from Judah to 
Bethel, and went to the 
altar, and cried, " altar, 
altar, thus saith the Lord : 
there shall be born a king 
in Judah, named Josiah, 
and upon thee shall he 
offer the priests that burn 
incense upon thee, and 
men's bones shall be burnt 
upon thee." Then the 
altar was rent, and the 
ashes poured out, as a sign 
to show Jeroboam that the 
prophecy came from God. 
Jeroboam was angry 
with the prophet, for he 
did not like to hear that 
his altar should be de- 
stroyed ; and he put out 
his hand, to lay hold of 
the man of God But 
the wicked king had no 
power to hurt God's pro- 
phet. The hand of Jero- 
boam dried up directly, 
so that he had no strength destruction of the altar foreToed. 

to move it. God smote Jeroboam, to punish him for his wickedness in 
trying to hurt his servant. 

The king was frightened when he looked at his withered hand, and 
found he had no power to use it. He said humbly to the prophet, " Ask 




218 KING SOLOMON. 

God to forgive me, and to make my hand well again." Was the prophet 
willing to be kind to his enemy? Yes, he did not wish to be revengeful; 
he knew he ought to love and pray for his enemies. So the prophet 
prayed, and God mercifully heard his prayer, and made Jeroboam's hand 
strong and well again. 

Was Jeroboam thankful to the prophet who prayed God to make his 
hand well again ? Yes, Jeroboam said to him, " Come home with me, and 
rest thyself, and eat bread at my house, and I will give thee money." But 
the prophet said, " No, I must not go back with thee. God commanded 
me not to eat nor drink in this place, but to go away directly by another 
road." So the prophet went away, and Jeroboam returned to his house alone. 

There was an old man who lived at Bethel who was a prophet too, 
but he was not a good man. When his sons came home that day they 
told him the wonderful story of the prophet who came from Judah, and 
prophesied about Jeroboam's altar : and of the king's hand withering when 
he tried to lay hold of the man of God ; and how it was cured when the 
prophet prayed to God. The old man wondered very much to hear these 
things, and said, " I should like to see this prophet, and talk to him ; 
where is he gone ? " The sons showed their father the road the prophet 
had taken ; and then the old man saddled his ass and rode after him, to 
seek him. Did he find him? Yes, at last he saw the prophet sitting 
under an oak tree. 

Then the old man went to him and asked, " Art thou the prophet 
who came from Judah?" He said, "Yes, I am." Then the old man 
said, " Come home with me, and eat bread." But the prophet answered, 
" No, I must not ; God commanded me to eat no bread and drink no water 
here, and I cannot disobey him." But the old man said, "I am a prophet 
too ; and an angel appeared to me, and told me to go to thee, and bring 
thee home, and give thee bread to eat and water to drink." 

The old man and the prophet went home together, and sat down to 
eat and drink. And now punishment came upon the disobedient prophet. 
God had seen all he did. His eye is always upon us. Wherever we go, 
whatever we do, he knows all. When we obey and serve him, and trust 
in him to guide us in all our ways, then his blessing follows us, and we 
are safe wherever we go. But if we are disobedient to him, and forget or 
rebel against his commands, then we sin against him, and his frown is 
upon us, and not his smile. 



KING SOLOMON. 



219 



God sent a message to the old man, while they were all sitting at 
table. It was a very sad message. The old man cried to the prophet, 
" Thns saith the Lord : because thou hast disobeyed the command of God 
thou shalt not go to thy home again ; but thou shalt die by the way, and 
thy body shall not be 
buried in thy father's 
tomb." The poor prophet 
saw now how dangerous 
it is to disobey God. 

When they had 
finished eating, the pro- 
phet saddled his ass and 
went away. He looked 
up and saw a lion in the 
road coming to meet him. 
God sent that lion : it came 
to punish the disobedient 
prophet ; and it rushed 
upon him and killed him 
in a moment. But the 
lion did not hurt the ass, 
nor devour the dead body 
of the man. 

The people who 
passed by soon came and 
told the sad story to the 
old prophet. He knew 
why the man of God was 
slain, and he felt very 
sorry, and went directly 
to the place where the 
lion had killed him. What 
did he see there? The poor prophet's dead body lying on the road, and 
the lion and the ass standing by it. The old man took up the dead body 
and laid it on his ass, and carried it home. Then he put it in his own 
tomb, and mourned over it, and cried, " Alas ! my brother." 

He said to his sons, " When I die bury me by the man of God. 




THE PROPHET SEAIN BY A EION. 



220 KING SOLOMON. 

Lay my bones by his bones. I know that what he prophesied about 
the altar of Bethel shall all be found true." The old prophet believed the 
word of God. 

We now come again to the history of a very good king. His name 
was Asa; he was king of Judah, and son of Abijah. When Asa began to 
reign, he found his people very ignorant of God. They had learnt to be 
idolaters ; to worship images and new gods, and not their own God, the 
true God, who made all things. But when Asa was king, he knew it was 
his duty to teach his people the right way. So he threw down all the 
idol-altars, and the images, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord. 

Was there rest in Judah all the years that Asa reigned ? No : all 
countries, and people, everywhere, must have trouble sometimes; and Asa 
had his troubles. Enemies came to fight against him. They were very, 
very many, and they came with chariots and horses, and made ready for 
battle. Was Asa frightened ? Perhaps he was at first ; but he knew where 
to find help. Did he trust in his soldiers, and his armor, and his strong 
cities ? No, Asa knew that all these things could not help him. 

There was no power in them ; but the good king went to God and 
asked for his help. He prayed and said, " Lord, we trust in thee to help 
us ; we have no power in ourselves ; but we know that thou wilt hear us, 
and fight our enemies for us, and then we shall have the victory. Thou 
art our God; in thy name we go to fight against this army of our 
enemies." Then Asa and his people felt safe and happy, because they knew 
that God would hear and answer their prayer. And so he did. He smote 
their enemies, and gave Asa and his people the victory. 

Asa was growing an old man. He had had many happ3> r and peace- 
ful years, but now trouble came again. The king of Israel and his army 
fought against him. Did Asa remember the kindness of God in past times ? 
Did he go to him again for safety ? No, Asa forgot to do this ; he did 
not now trust in God, but he went to the king of Syria, and asked 
help from him. The king of Syria was very willing to help Asa. He 
sent captains and soldiers to fight for him, and soon the Israelites 
were conquered. 

But Asa had displeased God, because he had trusted more in the 
king of Syria than he had trusted in the Lord ; and therefore a prophet 
was sent to Asa to tell him how angry God was. Asa had sinned, and 
God must punish him. The prophet said, "Thou hast done foolishly. 



KING SOLOMON. 



221 



Thou hast trusted in the king of Syria, and not in God. Now thou shalt 
have wars, and battles, and fighting in thy kingdom, all the rest of thy 
life " This was sad news for Asa. He had been foolish and wicked too. 
When we are in trouble, God alone can give us true help and comfort. 
How foolish and ungrate- 
ful we are when we for- 
get this ! 

The rest of Asa's 
life was not happy, as it 
had been before. When 
people forget and dis- 
obey God they cannot 
be happy. Asa was not 
humbled when he heard 
God's message to him. 
He did not, like David, 
confess his sin directly 
and ask for forgiveness. 
No, Asa was very angry 
with the prophet who 
told him what God said. 
This was still more 
wrong in Asa. 

The prophet spoke 
as God commanded, and 
Asa should have at- 
tended humbly to the 
message he brought, and 
prayed to be enabled to 
do better in future. Asa, 
in his anger, shut up 
the faithful prophet in a hanani imprisoned FOR rebuking ASA. 

prison, where he could speak to him no more. But God's message was 
true, and Asa suffered from wars all the rest of his life, while the poor 
prophet was alone and sorrowful in his prison. 




THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



AHAB was king after Omri's death. He was more wicked than any 
of the kings who reigned before him in Israel. His wife's name 
was Jezebel, and she encouraged her husband in his sins and 
idolatries. They both worshipped Baal, and taught their people to worship 

him too. Were all the 
Israelites idolaters now ? 
Was there none to teach 
them about God ? Were 
there no holy prophets in 
Israel still ? There were 
yet a few faithful servants 
of God; and a holy prophet 
was living in the coun- 
try, who boldly preached 
the truth to the people of 
Israel. This prophet was 
Elijah. The Bible tells 
us many wonderful and 
beautiful stories about him. 
God told Elijah to 
go to king Ahab, and 
say, that he would send 
no rain, and no dew, upon 
the land of Israel for a 
long time. Israel had for- 
gotten their kind and mer- 
ciful God who gave them 
all their good things. 
They did not thank him 
for his blessings; they did 
not ask him for the food 
ELIJAH'S PROPHECY AGAINST ahab. they needed : they were 

worshipping Baal, not God ; and, therefore, God punished his ungrateful 
people by taking away their blessings. He taught them, in this way, that 
222 




THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 223 

lie alone could give them their good things, and that he could take all 
away too, if he pleased. 

This was a sad time for Israel. No rain fell to water the ground ; 
so the grass dried up, and then there was no food for the poor animals ; 
and no corn, nor fruits, for the people to eat. A famine is a dreadful thing. 
But where was Elijah now ? God took care of him ; he told him where 
to go, and how he should be fed. There was a little brook of water near 
Jordan named Cherith, and God told Elijah to go and hide himself there. 
Why must he hide himself? Because Elijah had enemies who were 
seeking to kill him. Ahab and Jezebel hated him, because he told them 
the truth, and spoke to them about their sins, and warned them of God'.° 
anger. It was right of Elijah to tell them all this ; but wicked people 
love their sins, and do not like to be reproved for them. Ahab aid 
Jezebel hated all God's holy prophets, and sought for them to put them 
to death: but Elijah was safely kept by God at the brook Cherith. 

What did he eat there ? There was no corn, nor fruit ; yet he had 
plenty every day. Who gave him his daily food? God sent it to him in 
a very wonderful way. Not by a friend, nor a prophet, nor a servant, nor 
an angel. God sent it to him every day by ravens. Every morning the 
ravens came to Elijah. One carried flesh in its beak; another carried 
bread. The ravens did not eat the food themselves. They brought it to 
Elijah; and he took it from them, and then they flew away; and every 
evening the ravens came again, and brought more bread and flesh to 
Elijah; and when he was thirsty he drank the water of the brook. He 
was alone ; only God was with him : but Elijah was happy. 

There was a man named Naboth, who lived in Jezreel, and had a 
vineyard there, very near king Ahab's palace. It was a very pleasant 
garden; and the king often looked at it, and said, "I wish that garden 
were mine." But Naboth would not sell his vineyard, because it was the 
inheritance appointed for him by God; and he said to Ahab, "I cannot 
give my father's inheritance to thee." When the king heard this, he was 
angry : and when he went home, he sat sullenly without speaking ; and 
when food was brought to him, he sent it away, and would not eat it. 

When Jezebel saw how displeased Ahab was, she asked, " Why art 
thou so sad that thou eatest no bread?" Then Ahab said, " Because I 
asked Naboth to let me buy his vineyard, and he will not part with it." 
Ahab was lying idly on his bed, for he was so angry he would do nothing ; 



224 



THE STORY OF EUJAH. 



but now Jezebel said to him, "Arise, and eat, and be merry, and I will 
give thee the vineyard of Naboth." Wicked Jezebel had no right to do 
this ; the vineyard did not belong to her; but she was not afraid of doing 
wrong, or of making God angry. So she wrote letters, and sealed them 

with Ahab's seal, and sent 
them to the nobles who 
lived at Jezreel. 

What did she say 
in the letters ? She wrote, 
" Take Naboth, and bring 
him out before the peo- 
ple ; and let two men accuse 
him of rebellion against 
God and the king; and 
then carry him away, and 
stone him, that he may 
die." This wicked com- 
mand came to the nobles 
in Jezreel ; and after they 
had read it, they went 
to Naboth' s house, and 
brought him out before 
the people to be judged. 
Had Naboth done wrong ? 
No ; but the nobles sent 
for two wicked men who 
wrongfully accused him, 
and said, "Naboth has 
rebelled against God, and 
against the king." These 
wicked men forgot the 
ahab accused of THE DEATH OF naboth. ninth commandment, in 

which it is said, "Thou shalt not bear false witness." But the nobles 
attended to what the false witnesses said, and they brought out Naboth, 
and stoned him with stones till he died. Then they sent to the queen 
and said, " Naboth is dead." 

Jezebel was glad to hear this ; and she ran directly, and told Ahab, 




THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



225 



and said, " Go and take possession of the vineyard. Naboth cannot take 
it away from thee now, for he is stoned and dead." Then Ahab was 



But God had seen all 
and all Tezebel's deceit 



pleased and arose directly, and went to Jezreel. 
this wickedness. He knew all Ahab's selfishness 
and cruelty. He had heard 
the lies of the false wit- 
nesses, and seen Naboth 
die ; and now he called 
Elijah, and sent him with 
a fearful message to Ahab 
at Jezreel. The wicked 
king was walking in the 
vineyard ; he felt pleased 
that he could possess it; 
and he thought he was 
safe now that Naboth 
was dead. 

But soon Ahab saw 
Elijah coming to meet 
him, and he felt very 
much frightened ; for he 
knew Elijah was sent to 
him by God. All his pos- 
sessions could not make 
Ahab feel safe and happy 
now. He said to Elijah, 
"Hast thou found me, O 
mine enemy?" Elijah 
answered, " Yes, I have 
found thee. God has seen 
thy sin, and he has sent 
a message to thee by me. JEZEBEL devoured by dogs. 

All thy family shall be destroyed, like the families of Jeroboam and 
Baasha. In the place where Naboth was killed, the dogs shall lick thy 
blood, and eat the flesh of Jezebel. All this shall come upon thee, because 
of thine idolatry, and wickedness, and rebellion against God." 

Ahab was frightened when he heard this message. His pleasure 
15 




226 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 

was all gone ; and lie went home sorrowfully, and rent his clothes, and 
ate no food, and spoke humbly and gently. Ahab's repentance and 
humility soon ended. He was not really sorry for sin, and he did not 
ask for pardon. But God was so merciful that when he saw Ahab 
humbling himself before him, he said, " I will spare Ahab a little longer. 
I will not punish his family now." 

Who was now king of Judah? Asa was dead, and his son Jehosha- 
phat reigned in Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat was a good man like his father; 
but he was friendly with wicked Ahab, and came to see him at Samaria. 
The Syrians were fighting again against Israel, and Ahab wished very 
much to go to Ramoth-Gilead, and take it back from the king of Syria; 
and he asked Jehoshaphat to go with him. The king of Judah was very 
willing to go : he said, " I am as thou art ; my people as thy people ; my 
horses as thy horses." Was this right? No; Jehoshaphat was a servant 
of God, and Ahab was a wicked idolater; and it is wrong for God's people 
to choose their friends among Satan's people, and to love their company. 

Jehoshaphat did not like to go to the battle without asking God's 
blessing : and he wished Ahab to ask the prophets to tell them the word 
of the Lord. There were many wicked prophets in Israel then; and Ahab 
called for some of these, and asked, " Shall I go to Ramoth-Gilead or 
no ? " Then they all said, " Yes, go ; God will give the city into thy 
hand." But Jehoshaphat feared that these wicked prophets were deceiving 
Ahab ; so he said, " Is there not a prophet of the Lord here ? Let us ask 
of him." Then Ahab answered, " Yes ; there is one man, named Micaiah ; 
but I do not like him, because he always prophesies evil about me, and 
not good." But Jehoshaphat still wished to see Micaiah, so Ahab sent a 
messenger to call him. 

When the messenger came to Micaiah, he said, " Go now to Ahab, 
and prophesy as the other prophets do ; they all tell Ahab to go to 
Ramoth-Gilead to conquer ; speak like them ; try to please the king ; do 
not make him angry." But Micaiah answered, " I shall speak the truth 
which God tells me to speak." Micaiah was not afraid of Ahab's anger; 
but he was very much afraid of making God angry, by speaking lies and 
deceit. Pray that you, like good Micaiah, may never be afraid of speak- 
ing the truth. 

The two kings were sitting upon their thrones, dressed in their 
robes ; and all the wicked prophets stood and prophesied before them. 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



227 



The prophets said, " Go to Ramoth-Gilead, and conquer ; God shall give it 
into the king's hand." When Micaiah came in, Ahab said to him, " Tell 
me now the truth ; shall I go to Ramoth-Gilead, and fight and conquer 
there, or no ? " 

Then Micaiah began to tell Ahab the fearful message God had sent 
to him. He said, "I saw, 
in a vision, the Lord sit- 
ting on his throne, and 
all the holy angels stand- 
ing around him. And the 
Lord said, Who will tempt 
Ahab to go to Ramoth- 
Gilead, that he may fall 
and die there ? Then a 
wicked spirit came to the 
Lord, and said, I will 
tempt Ahab to go to 
Ramoth-Gilead. I will 
teach his prophets to lie, 
and deceive him ; and they 
shall persuade him to go. 
And the Lord said to the 
wicked spirit, Go, and do 
as thou hast said." 

Then Micaiah turn- 
ed to Ahab, and said, 
" These prophets who 
stand around, are lying 
prophets. The wicked 
spirit I saw in the vision, 
has taught them to de- 
ceive ; the}^ are tempting 
thee to go to the battle, micaiah prophesying against ahab. 

and thou shalt fall and die there ; for God himself has spoken evil about 
thee." Then Ahab grew very angry ; and one of the wicked prophets struck 
Micaiah on the face, and laughed at what he said. Ahab turned to his 
servants, and said, "Take Micaiah away, and put him in prison, and feed 




228 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 

him with bread and water, till I return in peace." But Micaiah said, 
" Thou wilt never return in peace again ; " and then he turned to the 
people, and said, " Hearken, O people, every one of you." 

The good prophet was carried to his prison : and wicked Ahab went 
with Jehoshaphat to Ramoth-Gilead. But Micaiah was happy and peaceful 
in the prison, because God was with him there to bless and comfort him. 
He was more happy than Ahab ; for Ahab felt frightened and uncomfort- 
able, because he knew that he was doing wrong, and that God's blessing 
was not with him. 

When the two kings and their armies came to the battle-field, Ahab 
said to Jehoshaphat, " I will disguise myself when I go to fight ; but put 
thou on thy robes." Ahab was afraid the Syrians would try to kill him; 
and he thought he should be safer in disguise, because no one could know 
him then. When the Syrians saw Jehoshaphat in his robes, they said, 
" That is the king of Israel ; let us fight him, and kill him." But Jeho- 
shaphat cried, " No, I am not Ahab ; I am the king of Judah ; " so the 
Syrians turned away, for they did not want to kill Jehoshaphat. Could 
they find Ahab ? They did not know him in his disguise ; but God saw 
him all the time : Ahab could not hide himself from his eye. 

One of the Syrians drew a bow, and let the arrow fly. The Syrian 
could not tell where the arrow might go, nor whom it might shoot: but 
God knew ; he directed the arrow, and it smote Ahab to the heart in his 
chariot, where he was sitting in disguise. The king felt that he must 
soon die, and he said to the man who drove the chariot, " Carry me out 
of the battle, for I am wounded." His friends followed him, and held him 
up in his chariot, and tried to heal the wound 1 ; but they could not cure 
their master; he died in the evening, and they carried the dead body home 
to Samaria, and buried it. 

When the battle with the Syrians was ended, Jehoshaphat went 
home in peace to Jerusalem. Was God pleased; with all that Jehoshaphat 
had done? No; a prophet came, and said to ;him, "God is angry with 
thee, because thou hast helped the ungodly, and loved the enemies of the 
Lord." But God forgave Jehoshaphat, because he repented of his sin; he 
did really love the Lord, and try to serve him. His ungodly friend was 
dead now, and Jehoshaphat was in his own kingdom ; and he taught the 
people in the right way, and would not let them worship idols. 

But Jehoshaphat had some enemies to fight. Who were they? The 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



229 



Moabites and the Ammonites; and they came in very great numbers. 
Jehoshaphat was afraid; but he knew what he ought to do in his danger: 
he sought the Lord himself, and he commanded his people to fast, and to 
seek God too. The king, and all his people, went to the temple ; and 
there they prayed for 
help. Jehoshaphat re- 
membered, that when 
Solomon had dedicated 
that house, he had asked 
God to hear the prayers 
which his people should 
pray when they were 
in trouble. 

They were in trou- 
ble now, and they went 
to the temple to ask for 
God's help. All the peo- 
ple stood before the Lord, 
with their wives, and 
their little children ; and 
then the good king 
prayed, and said, " Lord, 
we know not what to do ; 
but our trust is in thee." 
Did God attend to these 
good people? Yes; while 
the}^ were praying, God's 
Spirit came upon a Levite 
named Jahaziel, and he 
spoke to them, and said, 
"Thus saith the Lord, 
Be not afraid. The battle jehoshaphat's prayer for his people. 

is not yours, but God's. To-morrow you must go down to your enemies ; 
but you need not fight them ; you may stand still and see the salvation 
of the Lord. Fear not, for he is with you." 

Then Jehoshaphat bowed down to the ground in thankfulness and 
reverence, and all the people worshipped ; and afterwards, they stood up, 




230 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 

and sang praises to God. They sang with a loud voice, because they felt 
so happy, and so thankful to God. They knew that he was their friend 
and they did not fear. How pleasant it is to have God for our friend 
when we are in trouble and danger ! 

Next day, all the people rose very early to go to the battle : but 
before they went, Jehoshaphat called them and said, " Believe in the Lord 
your God; trust in him and all will be well, and he will give you the 
victory." Then the good king commanded the singers to go before the 
army, to praise God, and to give him thanks. It was a beautiful sight. 
First, the singers went, praising God in their holy psalms and hymns ; 
and then followed King Jehoshaphat and all his army, not frightened and 
trembling, but bold and full of courage. 

When they came to the place where their enemies were, what did 
they see ? The Ammonites and Moabites were all lying dead upon the 
ground ; there was not one there to hurt Judah. But who had killed 
them? Not Jehoshaphat; not his army: it was God himself who had sub- 
dued them all. When the people began to sing their psalms of praise, 
God began to save them from their enemies. The Ammonites, and Moab- 
ites, and the people of Mount Seir had quarrelled and fought one against 
another, till all were killed ; and when Judah came to the battle, they 
found no enemies left to conquer. So they went to the dead bodies, and 
took off all the fine things that were upon them. 

There was so much spoil that Jehoshaphat and his soldiers were 
three days gathering it. When they had finished, they all came together, 
and blessed and thanked God for subduing their enemies ; and then they 
went home to Jerusalem, to the temple, playing on harps and trumpets, 
and shouting for joy. All the countries round heard about this wonderful 
victory ; and they feared God very much, for they saw how powerful he 
was. God gave rest and peace to Jehoshaphat, because he trusted in him 
alone, and not in his own strength. God is now as powerful as he was 
then ; and he is still willing to hear his people's prayers, and to comfort 
and save them in all their troubles. 

Elijah knew that the time was near when he should be taken to 
heaven ; and he and his servant Blisha went from Gilgal. Blijah was 
going to see some of his dear friends for the last time, and to bid them 
farewell. When they had gone a little way Elijah said to Elisha, " Stay 
here now, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha answered, 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



231 



"No, I will not leave thee;" so they both came to Bethel. Did they talk 

as they walked along? Yes; Elijah told his faithful servant that he was 

going away from him soon ; he was going to heaven ; but Elisha must 

stay on earth a little longer. This made Elisha love his dear master still 

more ; for he thought, " I 

shall not have him with 

me long ; he will soon go 

away from me. I will 

not leave him now. I 

must stay with him and 

hear all his last words." 

There was a school 
at Bethel for the sons of 
the prophets ; and when 
the young prophets saw 
Elijah and Elisha coming 
they ran to them, and 
said to Elisha, " Knowest 
thou that the Lord will 
take away thy master to- 
day?" Elisha did not 
wish tnem to speak about 
it • so he said softly, "Yes, 
I know it ;" and walked 
on with Elijah. Then 
Elijah said, "Stay here, 
for God has sent me to 
Jericho." But Elisha an- 
swered, " No, I cannot 
leave thee ;" and they 
both went on to Jericho. 

There was another jehoshaphat's victory. 

school at Jericho ; and the sons of the prophets came, and said to Elisha, 
" Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master to-day?" Elisha 
said, " Yes, I know it ; hold your peace." Then Elijah told Elisha that 
God had sent him to Jordan ; but Elisha still kept close to his dear master, 
and said, "I cannot, I will not leave thee;" so they came together to 




232 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



Jordan. Elijah took off his mantle, and smote the waters with it; and the 
waters divided, and Elijah and Elisha went over on dry ground. Then 
Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask now what shall I give thee; what shall I do 
for thee before I go away?" 

Elijah had not any worldly possessions to give; and Elisha did not 

want them ; for he knew 
they could not make him 
happy. But Elisha wanted 
to be like his master ; he 
wanted to be a holy pro- 
phet of the Lord ; so he 
said, " Let a double por- 
tion of thy spirit be upon 
me." It was God's Spirit 
that made Elijah so holy, 
and that taught him to 
prophesy, and to do the 
wonderful things we have 
been reading about. Could 
Elijah give the Holy 
Spirit to Elisha? No; 
for that is the gift of God 
alone; but Elijah could 
ask God to give his Spirit 
to Elisha. 

Elijah said, "Thou 
hast asked a hard thing : 
but if thou see me taken 
up, thou shalt have thy 
wish ; but if not, thou 
shalt not have it." Elisha 
asked for a good gift ; may 

THE TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. we ask f or i t too ? Yes J 

God promises to give his Holy Spirit to all who ask him. Not the won- 
derful spirit of prophecy which he gave to Elijah; God does not now give 
that to his people ; but the Spirit to cleanse and renew our hearts, and to 
make us pure and holy. 




THE STO^Y OF ELISHA. 233 

Elijah and Elisha still went on, and talked one to the other, for 
they had mnch to say. Elijah was giving his last advice, and Elisha was 
very attentive to all his words, for he knew that he should never hear his 
master speak again. But while they were talking, a bright chariot of fire 
appeared, and horses of fire. They came from heaven to carry up Elijah 
safely there. Elijah was parted from Elisha in a moment. Elisha looked 
up, and he saw his dear master in the bright chariot, going to heaven in 
joy and triumph, and he cried, " O, my father, my father!" But very soon 
Elisha could see his master no more. He was gone far away, above the 
clouds, and the blue sky, to a world which Elisha's eye could not see. 

THE STORY OF ELISHA. 

ONE day, a poor woman came to Elisha in great trouble. Her husband 
was dead. He was one of the sons of the prophets ; a good man, 
but very poor. He owed money, and died before he could pay his 
debts. If this good man had lived longer, he would, no doubt, have tried 
very hard to earn money to pay what he owed. It is not right to be in 
debt. The Bible says, " Owe no man anything." But the poor man was 
now dead, and could do nothing; and when the creditor came to ask for 
the money, the widow had none to give him. 

Then the creditor said, "If I cannot have the debt paid, I must 
take away thy two sons, and sell them for slaves." The poor woman cried 
very much when she heard this. She had lost her husband, and now must 
she lose her children also ? She did not know how to get money to pay 
the debt; so she went to Elisha, and told her trouble to him. The prophet 
was very kind, and willing to help her. Did he help her to escape from 
her creditor without paying the debt ? or did he pay the money for her 
himself? No; Elisha told her she must try to earn the money. 

When people are in debt, they should always try to pay their cred- 
itors. It is very dishonest to run away without paying; it is like stealing. 
But what could the poor widow do? Elisha asked, "What hast thou in 
the house?" The woman answered, "I have only a pot of oil." Then 
Elisha told her to go to all her neighbors, and ask them to lend her 
some empty vessels. 

The woman obeyed, and soon she brought home a great many; for 
her friends were very kind, and willing to lend the vessels. But what was 



234 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



she to do with all these vessels ? Elisha told her. He said, " Go to thine 
house, and shut the doors. Then take the pot of oil, and pour out into 
the empty vessels." The woman and her sons did as Elisha said. Vessel 
after vessel they filled with oil ; but the . oil in the pot did not grow less • 

God multiplied it, as he 
did the oil and the meal 
of the poor widow at 
Zarephath. At last, all 
th;- vessels were full of oil. 
Then the woman 
went and told Elisha, and 
asked, " What must I do 
now?" Elisha said, " Go, 
and sell the oil, and pay 
the debt with the money; 
and then, thou and thy 
children may live upon 
what is left." The widow 
must pay her debt first. 
She must first think about 
her duty to her creditor, 
and afterwards about her- 
self and her children. 
The oil was soon sold ; and 
the widow had then plenty 
- of money; and she went 
directly and paid her debt. 
Elisha used often 
to go to a place named 
Shunem, where a good 
woman lived who was 
EUSHA multiplying THE widow's OIL. very rich. This woman 

loved God; and as she knew that Elisha was a prophet of God, she loved 
and honored him too. One day, when she saw Elisha passing by, she 
ran and called him into her house, and gave him food to refresh him on 
his journey. Elisha went to Shunem many times afterwards, and he always 
turned into the house where the good woman and her husband lived. 




THE STORY OF EUSHA. 235 

They were glad to see him, because he was a holy man ; and he 
talked about God and heaven, and taught them many good and holy 
things. The kind Shunammite prepared a little room in her house for 
Elisha. She put in it for - him, a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a 
candlestick ; and when Elisha wanted to be quiet, and to read and think 
alone, he used to go into this little room. 

What could Blisha do for this contented woman ? What did she 
want? Gehazi, Elisha's servant, said, "She has no child; perhaps she 
would like a son." Then Elisha asked God to give a little son to this 
good Shunammite, to comfort her, and make her happy. He knew God 
would hear his prayer, and he called the woman, and said to her, " Very 
soon, God will give thee a son." The woman wondered when Elisha 
told her this ; but God attended to Elisha's prayer, and soon after the 
little boy was born. 

The mother was much pleased to have this dear child, and very 
thankful to God who gave him to her. The little boy grew, and soon he 
could run about, and talk, and learn many things. One day, in harvest 
time, his mother sent him into the fields where his father was, to see the 
men reaping the corn. The little boy was much pleased to stand there by 
his dear father, and looked at the beautiful yellow corn. It was a very hot 
day. The sun shone brightly, and it struck the head of the little boy, and 
made him feel very sick; and he cried to his father, " My head, my head!" 

He was in great pain, and could not stay longer in the fields : so 
his kind father called a lad, and said, " Carry the child to his mother." 
£ le took him on her lap, and nursed him, and kissed him, and did all 
she could for him ; but he grew worse and worse ; and, after a few hours, 
he died in her arms. 

When the mother saw that her little boy was dead, she carried him 
up into Elisha's room, and laid him upon the bed. Then she told the 
servant to saddle an ass directly, and to ride with her to Mount Carmel. 
Why? Because she wanted to see Elisha, and to tell her sorrows to him. 
This woman had great faith in God ; she knew he could raise her child 
to life again if he pleased. She took a long journey; and when she came 
near to Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her, and sent Gehazi to meet her. 

Then Gehazi ran to her, and asked, " Is all well ? Is it well with 
thy husband? Is it well with the child?" The mother answered, "Yes, 
all is well." She knew all was right, because done by God. Though 



236 



THE STORY OF EUSHA. 



he had taken away her child, yet she knew all was " well." When the 
Shnnanimite came to Elisha, she ran and caught him by the feet; she was 
so full of sorrow she could not speak. 

Gehazi wanted to push her away; but Elisha said, "No, she is 

unhappy, and we must 
be kind and gentle to 
her." Elisha soon under- 
stood what it was that 
made her sorry ; and then 
he told Gehazi to go 
before very quickly to the 
Shunammite's house, and 
lay his staff upon the 
child's face. Gehazi obey- 
ed. He went to the 
house, and into the room 
where the little dead boy 
lay, and put his master's 
staff upon the child's face. 
But there was no 
voice; the child could not 
see, nor hear, nor speak 
to Gehazi. Then Gehazi 
went to meet his mas- 
ter, who was following 
slowly with the poor 
mother, and said, " The 
child is not awaked." 
So Elisha came on to the 
house, and then he went 
alone into his room, and 
ELISHA restoring THE child To LIFE. looked at the child. He 

was dead. The staff was upon his face, but the staff had no power to 
make him live ; aud Elisha himself had no power ; God alone could raise 
the child to life again. Elisha knew this ; so he shut the door, and prayed 
to the Lord. Then he went and lay upon the child, and soon the child 
began to grow warm. 




THE STORY OF ELISHA. 237 

At last the child sneezed ; and then Elisha knew that he was alive, 
and that God had heard his prayer. The little boy sneezed again seven 
times, and opened his eyes. Then Elisha called the Shunainmite ; and 
when she came in, he showed her the child alive and well, and said, " Take 
up thy son." The mother bowed herself down to the ground in thankful- 
ness, and took up the child and went out. 

The king of Syria had a captain over his army named Naaman. 
Naaman was a very rich man ; and his master loved and honored him, 
because he was brave, and fought his battles for him ; so Naaman had 
much to make him happy ; but there was one thing which spoilt all his 
joys and pleasures. What was it? Naaman was a leper. We have read 
before about the leprosy, and what a dreadful disease it was. There was 
no cure for the leprosy. No medicine, no physician, could cleanse it. God 
alone could take it away. 

But Naaman knew nothing of God. He was an idolater. The king 
of Syria and all his people were idolaters. Naaman was sick and sorrowful 
and he had nothing to comfort him. Some time before the Syrians had 
fought with Israel, and taken prisoner a little Israelitish girl, and brought 
her to S} r ria. The little maid was taken to Naaman's house, and she 
waited upon his wife. She was a very obedient and gentle little girl. She 
tried to please her mistress, and was always respectful and kind to her. 
Her master and mistress were kind to her ; and the little maid loved them, 
and felt grateful to them. 

When she saw her master suffering so much, she was very sorry, 
and she thought, " I wish I could help my master." Then she remem- 
bered that there were lepers in her own country. She had heard of the 
laws about the leprosy ; and she knew, too, that Israel's God had power to 
cure it. And she recollected Elisha, and all the miracles he had done, and 
she thought, " God gives great power to Elisha." We shall soon see how 
God blessed this little maid, and how useful he made her to her master. 

One day, when the little girl was waiting upon her mistress, she 
said, " I wish my master could see the prophet who is in Samaria. God 
gives great power to that prophet. He has done many wonderful things. 
He would cure my master of his leprosy." Her mistress was surprised; 
but she sent and told Naaman what the little maid had said. Naaman 
was glad to hear that he could be cured; and his master, the king of 
Syria, was glad too. He called Naaman and said, " Go to the land of 



238 



THE STORY OF EL1SHA. 



Israel; I will give thee a letter for the king there, and he will tell thee 
how to be cured of thy leprosy." 

So Naaman made ready his horses, and chariots, and servants, and 
went to Samaria. How glad the little maid was to see her master go! 

She hoped that soon he 
would come home again 
cleansed and cured of his 
leprosy. Perhaps she 
prayed that her master 
might learn to worship 
the God of Israel, and 
give up his idols; for if 
the little girl loved God 
herself, she must have 
wished all her friends to 
love him too. 

Naaman now made 
all ready for his journey ; 
he took the king of 
Syria's letter, and a pres- 
ent for the king of Israel, 
and went to Samaria. 
Elisha soon heard that 
Naaman was come and 
said, " Send him to me ; I 
will show him that there 
is a God in Israel." 

The good prophet 
did not go out to see Naa- 
man, and to admire and 
honor him ; but he sent 
his servant to him with 
this message: "Go, and wash seven times in Jordan, and thou shalt be clean." 
Did Naaman obey ? No ; it was a very easy command, but Naaman did not 
like it. Why not ? Because he thought Elisha had not honored him. He said, 
" Why did not the prophet come out to me, and call upon his God, and put 
his hand upon me, and cure the leprosy ? Why must I wash in Jordan ? 




NAAMAN CURED OF HIS LEPROSY. 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 239 

Can the waters of Jordan cure me ? I have better rivers in Damascus, in 
my own country. May I not wash in them, and be clean ? " So he turned,, 
and went away in a rage. 

Naaman was too proud to be cured in God's way ; but God would 
not cure Naaman in his way. It was not Jordan's waters that had power 
to cleanse the leprosy ; God alone could cure it ; but Naaman was to obey 
God's command, and to submit to his will, and to have faith in him ; and 
then God promised to cure him ; but not while Naaman was disobedient 
and rebellious, and proud. Naaman still suffered from his leprosy ; and it 
was his own fault ; because he was too proud to obey Blisha's easy command. 

But the servants of Naaman were sorry to see their master so angry. 
They wished him to be well ; and they knew that he could not be cured 
if he did not obey the prophet's command. So the servants came to 
Naaman, and spoke to him very respectfully, because he was their master, 
but very affectionately too, because they loved him as their friend. The 
servants said to Naaman, " My father, if the prophet had told thee to do 
a great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? But he has told thee 
to do a very easy thing ; wash, and be clean : wilt thou not obey this 
easy command?" 

Naaman attended to what his servants said. He felt that they were 
right, and that he had done wrong in so proudly going away from Elisha's 
door. And Naaman was humble now. He was willing to be cured in God's 
way, not in his own proud way : so he went to the river Jordan, and dipped 
himself in it seven times, as Klisha had told him, and was cured. 

The king of Syria now came to fight against Joram, king of Israel. 
The king of Syria pitched his camp, hoping that he might take his enemy 
by surprise; but Klisha sent many times "to Jof am, ; and warned him not to 
go to the place where the Syrians were ; so Joram saved himself from his 
enemies. This troubled the king of Syria very much ; and he called his 
servants, and said, " Tell me who it is that does this ? Who tells the king 
of Israel where I pitch my camp ? " The servants answered, " It is Blisha 
the prophet. He knows all the secret things thou doest, and tells them to 
the king of Israel." 

Then the king of Syria was very angry with Elisha ; and he made 
ready his chariots, and horses, and a great army, and sent them to Dothan, 
where Elisha was, to take him prisoner. When the soldiers came to> 
Dothan it was night. None saw them coming ; all we*-e asleep : so the 



24Q 



THE STORY OF EUSHA. 



army surrounded the city, and waited till morning. Elisha's servant rose 
very early that morning, and went out; and he saw the city surrounded 
with horses, and chariots, and soldiers, all enemies of the good prophet. 

The servant was very much frightened; and he cried, and said, 

"Alas, my master! what 
shall we do ? " Was Eli- 
sha frightened ? No ; he 
knew that God had more 
power than all his ene- 
mies, and trusted in God 
to take care of him in 
this danger ; and then he 
felt safe and happy. And 
then Elisha spoke to his 
servant, and said to him, 
" Fear not; there are more 
with us than with our 
enemies ;" for Elisha saw 
what the servant could 
not see ; a wonderful and 
beautiful sight which com- 
forted him, and made 
him feel safe. 

Then Elisha prayed 
that the servant might 
he able to see this won- 
derful sight too ; and God 
heard Elisha's prayer, 
and opened the young 
man's eyes ; and then he 
saw that the mountain 

THE SYRIANS SMITTEN WITH BLINDNESS. was { u \\ Q f h orses an d 

chariots of fire round about Elisha. These chariots and horses were sent 
to protect Elisha from his enemies. Who sent them ? God himself. His 
holy angels in heaven are always ready to help and protect his people on 
earth. Elisha's enemies could not see this heavenly host; but God gave 
Elisha and his servant power to see them. 




THK bl'ORY OF ELISHA. 241 

But what did Elisha do when his enemies came to take him prisoner? 
Again he asked help of God : he asked him to smite his enemies with 
blindness ; and God did so. The Syrians became blind and helpless ; and 
then they had no power to hurt Elisha. So Elisha came to them and 
said, " Follow me, and I will bring you to the man you seek." Then he 
led them into Samaria. 

The poor blind men did not know where they were going ; but when 
they were come to Samaria, Elisha asked God to open their eyes again ; 
<md God gave sight to the S\ 7 rians. What did they see ? They saw 
themselves surrounded by their enemies. The king of Israel was there, 
and all his army. Elisha was close to them ; but they were afraid to take 
him now. Then the king said to Elisha, " Shall I smite them ? Shall I 
smite them ?" But Elisha did not want revenge ; he had used his power 
only to protect himself from his enemies ; and he did not wish to punish 
them any more. He was willing to forgive all their unkindness to him. 

So he said to the king of Israel, " No, we must not kill them. God 
gave them into my power that I might save myself; but I do not wish to 
hurt them. Let us give them bread to eat, and water to drink, and send 
them home to their master.'' Then Elisha made a great feast for the 
Syrians ; and when they had finished eating and drinking, he let them go 
back in peace to the king of Syria. 

The king of Israel soon followed the messenger to Elisha's house; 
but he did not come now to hurt the prophet. Joram was in despair, for 
he thought that he and his people must soon all perish with hunger. But 
God can send help in the greatest troubles, and he was now going to send 
help to Israel. So Elisha, at God's command, said to the king, " Hear 
what God says : To-morrow flour and barley shall be sold in plenty in 
Samaria." This was good news for Joram and his people, but they did 
not all believe what Elisha said. 

There was a lord with the king, a nobleman of Israel, and the king 
leaned upon his arm as he stood by Elisha. This lord did not- believe 
that there should be plenty of food in Samaria next day. He thought 
such a thing was too wonderful even for God to do ; and he answered 
Elisha very disrespectfully, and said, " No, this cannot be ; I will not 
believe it ; " he forgot that everything is possible with God. 

Then Elisha turned to the unbelieving nobleman, and said, " Thou 
slialt see the food to-morrow with thine eyes, but thou shalt not eat of it." 
16 



242 



THE STORY OF EUSHA. 



The nobleman did not care for what Klisha said ; but God remembered his 
sin, and soon punished him for it. And God remembered also his promise 
to give plenty of food next day to the poor hungry people in Samaria. 
That night he put fear into the hearts of the Syrians, so that they 

thought they heard a 
noise of horses, and char- 
iots, and a great army. 
There was nothing to 
make them afraid; all 
was still ; but God could 
fill them with fear, when 
no earthly enemy was 
near to hurt them. 

So they said one 
to another, "The king of 
Israel is coming against 
us, and all his soldiers, 
and the king of Egypt 
is coming too, and many 
more kings, and very 
great armies with them ; 
what shall we do?" Then 
they all arose, and left 
their tents, and their 
horses, and their asses, 
and gold and silver, and 
garments, and food; and 
escaped for their lives. 

But where was the 
unbelieving lord? The 
king commanded him to 
THE UNBELIEVER TRODDEN TO DEATH. stand at the gate and keep 

it. Multitudes of people passed by, carrying food in plenty ; and this lord 
saw that Elisha had spoken truth. But the great plenty in Samaria did 
no good to that unbelieving nobleman. He did not live to enjoy it. 
The crowds of people pressed upon him, and threw him down; and he 
fell, and was trodden under foot, and died, as Elisha had said. 




THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



243 



Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets, and gave him a 
message from God. Elisha said to the young man, " Go now quickly to 
Ramoth-Gilead. Take a box of oil in thine hand ; and when thou comest 
to Ramoth-Gilead, seek there for a man named Jehu, and call him to thee, 
and take him into a room 
alone, and pour the oil 
upon his head, and make 
him king over Israel. 
Then open the door and 
flee." The young pro- 
phet obeyed Elisha at 
once. He did not wait 
to ask why, nor murmur 
at the command. The 
sons of the prophets were 
taught obedience. 

The young pro- 
phet went to Ramoth- 
Gilead, and soon found 
Jehu. Jehu was a cap- 
tain of the army, and 
he was sitting with the 
other captains when the 
prophet came to him. 
Jehu was not thinking 
about being king; he 
did not know how God 
was now going to honor 
him ; but the prophet 
called to Jehu, and said, 
''I have a message for 
thee, O captain." So JEHU anointed king of israee. 

Jehu arose, and went into another room with the prophet alone. Then 
the young man took out the box of oil, and poured it upon Jehu's head, 
and said, " Thus saith the Lord, I anoint thee king of Israel. Thou shalt 
smite all the family of Ahab, and punish them. All the family of Ahab 
shall perish, and the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel in Jezreel." 




244 THE STORY OF EUSHA. 

Then the prophet opened the door, and fled. Jehu wondered, 
perhaps, to hear all this ; but he went quickly back again to his friends, 
and sat down. They all wanted to know who the young man was who 
had called Jehu ; and one asked, " Why did that mad fellow come to 
thee ? " Jehu answered, " Do not you know ? " They said, " No, we know 
nothing; tell us why he came." Then Jehu said, "He anointed me king 
over Israel in God's name." Did the captains wonder very much? 
Yes ; but they were all willing to have Jehu for their king ; for God 
made them willing. They all arose, and took their garments, and put them 
under Jehu, upon the top of the stairs; and they blew the trumpets, and 
shouted, "Jehu is king." 

Jehu told the captains to keep the secret from the people in Jezreel ; 
and then he rode in his chariot, and went to Jezreel, where Joram and 
Ahaziah were still staying. The watchman upon the tower in Jezreel saw 
Jehu coming, but he did not know at first who it was ; so he went and 
told the king; and Joram sent a horseman to meet the chariot. When 
the horseman came up to Jehu, he said, "The king asks, Is it peace?" 
But Jehu answered, " What hast thou to do with peace ? " Then another 
messenger came to ask, "Is it peace?" But Jehu answered as before. 
The watchman on the tower looked very attentively, and said to Joram, 
" The messengers who went to meet the chariot, do not return ; and the 
man in the chariot drives like Jehu, for he is driving very furiously." 

When Joram heard this, he commanded his servants to make his 
chariots ready, and he and Ahaziah rode to meet Jehu. When they came 
near, Joram cried, " Is it peace ? " But Jehu answered, " What peace can 
there be while thy wicked mother Jezebel is living ? " Joram began to be 
frightened, and cried out to his friend Ahaziah. But Ahaziah could not 
help Joram now. The time was come when both these wicked kings must 
be punished for their sins, and none could save them. Jehu drew his bow 
with all his strength, and shot an arrow into Joram's heart ; and the king 
fell down dead in his chariot. 

Ahaziah was now made king over Judah, and soon afterward died. 
When Athaliah, the wicked mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was 
dead, she destroyed all the king's sons, and made herself queen. Ahaziah's 
youngest son was then a babe; he could not take care of himself, but God 
took care of him ; and this little child was saved when all his brothers 
were killed. His aunt, Jehoshabeath, hid him and his nurse from wicked 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 245 

Athaliah, and brought him home, and kept him in safety in God's house 
for six years. 

The babe's name was Joash. How sad it was for little Joash to live 
in a time of such trouble and danger ! He had no father, no mother, no 
brother, to take care of him. But God was the friend of Joash, and he 
could make Jehoshabeath kinder to him than his own mother. The hus- 
band of this good aunt was named Jehoiada ; he was a priest of the Lor.d. 
Jehoiada lived in the temple, and little Joash and Jehoshabeath lived there too. 

When Joash was seven years old. Jehoiada thought the right time 
was come to make him king. Then he assembled all the people in the 
temple, and there they made a covenant together. The good priest spoke 
to them, and said, "Joash, the king's son, shall reign. God has promised 
that David 1 s sons shall sit upon the throne of Judah ; Joash has a right 
to the throne, and not Athaliah, who has had possession of the country so 
long. Let us trust in God, and he will help us to make Joash king. 
Divide yourselves now into three companies. Some must stand at the 
doors, and some at the king's house, and some at the gate. Let the 
priests and Levites come into the house of God, and let the people stand 
round to keep watch without." 

So Jehoiada armed the captains and the people, and placed them all 
round the temple, to guard the young king. Then they brought Joash 
into the house of the Lord, and put the crown upon his head ; and. 
Jehoiada anointed him, and said, " God save the king ; " and all the people 
shouted for joy, and cried again, "Joash is king." Athaliah heard the 
noise of the people running, and shouting, and rejoicing, and wondered, 
why it was — she knew nothing about Joash ; she thought he had perished, 
with his brothers, many years before. 

So Athaliah ran in haste to the house of God ; and there she save 
Joash standing, as king, by a pillar, and all the princes and people blowing 
the trumpets, and shouting, and rejoicing, and singing praises. Then 
Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, " Treason, treason ! " But Athaliah 
had no friends to help her now. Jehoiada called the captains ; and they 
ran to Athaliah and took her out of the house of God, and put her to 
death. She deserved to die, for she had murdered many of her son's 
faniify, to make herself queen ; and she was justly punished for her wick- 
edness, and put to death herself. 

Joash was now king, and could reign in peace. What care God 



246 



THE STORY OF EUSHa. 



had taken of this little child, all the six years he had been hidden from 
his cruel grandmother! Why did God care so much for Joash? Because 
God remembered his promise to David. God loved David, and he loved 
David's children after him, and promised to give them the kingdom of 

Judah. And God loved 
Judah, and would not let 
his people suffer any 
longer under cruel Atha- 
liah. He waited some 
years, but all those years 
he was watching over 
Joash, and over his people 
in Judah too ; and when 
the right and best time 
came, he gave wisdom, and 
strength, and courage, 
to Jehoiada, that he might 
make Joash king, and slay 
wicked Athaliah. How 
wise and good God is ! 
We may trust all to him. 
Ourselves, and our friends, 
and our country — all are 
in his keeping ; and if we 
love him, and trust in him, 
as Jehoiada did, we may 
know that all will be well, 
and not fear any dan- 
gers, nor difficulties, nor 
troubles. 

Joash was a little 
athaliah put To death. boy when he began to 

reign ; — only seven years old. Kings have many duties to perform which 
are very difficult and very troublesome ; and they need great wisdom to per- 
form these duties rightly. The house of God had been sadly broken up 
by the wicked queen Athaliah ; and now Joash wished very much to repair 
it. But Joash knew this would cost much money, more than he could 




THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



247 



give : so lie called the Levites and told them to go all through the coun- 
try, and ask the people to give money to help to build up God's house. 

But the Levites were not so anxious about this holy work as Joash 
was. They were very slow, and took a long time to collect the money. 
This was not right. When 
we have work to do, good 
work, work in God's ser- 
vice, we should do it 
directly, and as quickly 
as we can. "Whatsoever 
thine hand findeth to do, 
do it with thy might ; for 
there is no work, nor de- 
vice, nor knowledge, nor 
wisdom, in the grave 
whither thou goest." 

Joash was displeased 
to see his people so slow. 
He called Jehoiada and 
said, " Wh}' are the Le- 
vites so long in collecting 
money for God's house? 
Tell the people to bring 
their monej^ to the tem- 
ple ; and we will put a box 
by the door of the temple, 
and the money shall be 
thrown in there." So Je- 
hoiada took a box, and made 
a hole in the top of it, and 
put it by the door of the 
house of the Lord ; and all joash collecting money for the temple. 
the people were told to bring their money, and to cast it into this box. The 
people were very glad to do this; they did not want to keep their riches for 
themselves, but were willing and joyful to give much of it to God. The box 
was soon full ; and then the Levites opened it, and counted the money, and 
emptied the box, and put it in its place again. The money was given to the 




248 



THE STORY OF EUSHA. 



carpenters, and masons, and workmen, who repaired the house of God, to pay 
them for their work. When all was finished, the Levites brought the rest 
of the money to the king and Jehoiada. Then Joash commanded that all 
this gold and silver should be made into holy vessels for the service of 

God ; because the money 
all belonged to God. The 
temple was now repaired ; 
and the people went to it 
every day, to offer their 
sacrifices, as God com- 
manded. 

Let us learn to be 
as generous in giving our 
money in God's service as 
the good people of Judah 
were. We have boxes now 
to hold money for holy 
purposes ; to send out 
missionaries to heathen 
lands ; and to buy Bibles 
and Testaments ; and to 
build churches and schools 
where idolaters may learn 
about Jesus. The money 
in these boxes is all for 
the service of God ; and if 
we love God, we shall be 
as glad to contribute as 
the people of Judah were. 
Rich people would throw 
in a great deal, if they 
REPAIRING THE TEMPLE. tm l y i oved G od ; and poor 

people would try to throw in a little. All would give something ; and they 
would give it joyfully ; for God does not like unwilling offerings. " God 
loveth a cheerful giver." 

Was Elisha still alive? Yes; but he was now an old man, and 
very near death. Many years before, his dear master had been taken away 




THE STORY OF ELISHA. 249 

from him ; and now Elisha was soon going to join him again, in that 
happy world where friends part no more forever. King Jehoash went to 
see Elisha when he was ill. Jehoash was not a good man ; but he loved 
and honored Blisha, and this was right. The king knew how useful 
Elisha had been to his country ; and he was very sorry to lose him, and. 
wept over him, and cried, " Oh my father, my father!" Israel had suffered 
much from the Syrians ; and Jehoash feared that now he should have no 
kind friend to help and comfort him. But Blisha wished to teach the king; 
that God could still protect Israel, and fight their enemies for them. 

The prophet taught Jehoash this by signs. He gave the king a. 
bow and arrows, and put his hands upon the king's hands, and told Jehoash 
to open the window eastward. Jehoash opened it, and the prophet said,. 
" Shoot." Jehoash shot the arrow out of the window, as Elisha told him ;. 
and then the prophet explained to Jehoash what the sign meant. He said,. 
" This is the arrow of the Lord's deliverance from Syria. Thus shalt thou 
smite the S3 r rians and destroy them." 

Then Elisha told the king to take the arrows again and smite upon 
the ground. Jehoash did so ; but he smote only three times upon the 
ground, and then stayed, without waiting for Elisha's command. This 
made the prophet angry. He saw that Jehoash had no faith in God, no 
trust in him, no care to obey his commands ; and he said to the king, 
"Thou oughtest to have smitten many times ; then Syria should have been 
quite destroyed ; but now thou shalt smite Syria only three times." 

The Syrians had long troubled Israel. Hazael was king of Syria,. 
and he was cruel to the Israelites, as Elisha had prophesied that he would 
be. But after Hazael was dead, Jehoash conquered the Syrians three times, 
and got possession agaiu of the cities they had taken. Yet Jehoash smote 
the Syrians only three times. Why? Because he was so impatient, and 
had so little faith, when Elisha, at God's command, told him to smite 
upon the ground. 

Good Elisha died, and was buried. All his troubles and sorrows were 
ended, and his happy soul went to join his dear master in heaven. Soon 
after Elisha's death, the Moabites came to invade the land. One day, as 
some Israelites were burying a dead man, they looked up, and saw the 
Moabites coming. The friends of the dead man took up the body in 
haste, and threw it into Elisha's tomb ; for they were so much afraid that 
they could not stay to bury it. But a wonderful thing happened when 



250 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



the dead man was put down into the tomb. As soon as the body touched 
the bones of Elisha it revived ; and the man lived again, and stood upon 
his feet. There was no power in Elisha's bones to revive the man. It 
was God who did the miracle ; and he showed the people by it how much 

he loved his faithful ser- 
vant, and honored him 
after his death. 

When Jehu died, 
his son Jehoahaz reigned 
over Israel. Jehu loved 
the world ; and God gave 
him, and his sons after 
him, worldly honors and 
wwldly possessions. But 
Jehu and his children did 
not care for heavenly 
things ; and, therefore, 
they had no possessions 
in that world which will 
last forever. 

Joash was still king 
of Judah ; but his kind 
friend, the good priest 
Jehoiada, was dead. He 
lived to be a very old 
man, 130 years old. He 
had served God many 
years, and done much 
good in Israel, and all the 
people loved and honored 
him. Jehoiada's son, Zech- 
elisha's bones restoring a man to life. ariah, was still living 

and he was grieved to see the king and his people doing so wickedly; and 
God was angry; and he sent holy prophets, to tell them so; but the 
people would not attend. 

At last Zechariah himself went to speak to the king and the people. 
He was a good man ; God's Spirit was upon him, and he felt that lie 




THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



251 



ought to be bold, and to speak the truth to his king. So Zechariah went 
to Joash, and spoke very solemnly to him and to the people. Zechariah 
said, " Why do you disobey God's holy commands ? You cannot prosper 
now. When you were obedient to God, you had his blessing, but now 
you have forsaken him, T 
and he has forsaken you." 
Was Joash willing 
to attend to Zechariah ? 
Did he repent, and turn 
to God, and tell his peo- 
ple to throw away their 
foolish idols ? No ; Joash 
had become hardened in 
sin ; he no longer cared 
for God, nor for Jehoiada, 
nor for Zechariah. He 
was angry with that bold 
and faithful man, and 
encouraged the people to 
conspire against him ; and 
the good priest was slain 
in the temple of the Lord. 
Zechariah did not try to 
defend himself, when he 
saw his murderers coming 
to kill him. He sub- 
mitted quietly to the cruel 
command of Joash ; but 
as he lay wounded and 
dying, he said, " God sees, 
and he will punish ; " and 
then he closed his eyes, the murder of zechariah. 

and died. And God did see this wicked, ungrateful act ; and he did punish 
Joash for it. The Syrians came, and destroyed many of the princes of 
Judah, and took away their riches. 




THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 

UZZIAH was now king of Judah. God gave him strength to subdue 
the Philistines, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites ; and every- 
thing that Uzziah did went on well. Why was this ? Because 
the young king was seeking God in all he did. When Uzziah began 
anything new, he first asked God's help and blessing ; and God heard his 
prayer, and directed him aright. Try, like Uzziah, to seek the Lord. 
Wherever you go, whatever you do, first ask God's blessing ; and then all 
will go on well, and you will be happy and prosperous too. If you look 
to God for help, he will teach and guide you. " In all thy ways acknow- 
ledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." 

Uzziah did many things in his kingdom. He built towers, and 
digged wells. He had very much cattle ; and a large army of soldiers to 
fight his enemies, and shields, and swords, and spears, and bows. He 
made engines for shooting arrows and great stones ; and all the people who 
lived near wondered when they heard of his strength, and riches, and 
power. All this was very pleasant to Uzziah ; but his prosperity did him 
no real good ; it led him away from God. Like Solomon, he grew forgetful 
of God when he grew rich. He became proud of himself, and of his 
power, and his greatness ; not remembering that all he had, God gave him. 

Uzziah, in his pride, thought he might do as he pleased ; and he 
went boldly into the temple of the Lord, to burn incense there. This was 
very wrong. The king was not the right person to burn incense : it was 
the business of the priests alone. When the priests saw Uzziah going into 
the holy place, they followed him, and said, " It is not right for thee, 
Uzziah, to burn incense. God has told the priests that they alone may 
burn incense; go out of this holy place; do not disobey the command of God." 

Uzziah was angry with the priests, and would not .attend to them: 
but God himself punished him for his sin. How did God punish Uzziah ? 
He smote him with leprosy while he was in the temple. The priests 
looked at the king while he was standing by the altar, and saw this 
dreadful leprosy rising in his forehead ; and then they quickly took him 
out of the temple ; for no leper might stay in that holy place. Uzziah 
himself was in haste to go out, when he felt how God had smitten and 
dishonored him for his sin. 
252 



THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 



2.13 



He lived in a house alone, and was not allowed to come into the 
holy temple. Uzziah had been very proud ; now God humbled him, and 
made him feel how weak and helpless he was. He could not judge his 
people himself, nor attend to his kingdom; his son Jotham did all for him; 
and when Uzziah died, 



Jotham was made king. 
Learn what a sin pride 
is. Solomon sa} T s, " Pride 
goeth before destruction, 
and a haughty spirit 
before a fall." 

Jotham, king of 
Judah, was a very good 
king. He did right ; but 
his people went on in 
their own wicked ways, 
and did not wish to be 
like him. This must 
have troubled Jotham 
very much ; but he 
trusted in God, and 
sought comfort in him, 
and God strengthened 
and blessed him. Jotham 
built a great many cities 
in the mountains of 
Judah, and towers and 
castles in the forests. 
Then he fought with 
the Ammonites and con- 
quered them ; and Jo- 
tham was prospered in uzziah smitten with leprosy. 
all that he did, because " he prepared his way before the Lord his God." 
We may learn something from the history of this good king. We 
have not kingdoms to rule, nor cities to build, nor battles to fight, as he 
had ; but we all have some work, some business to do ; and when we begin 
this work, we ought, like Jotham, to ask God's blessing. We should pray 




254 THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 

God to keep us from beginning anything wrong, and to help us in doing 
what is right. Then, all we do shall prosper ; we shall be active and busy, 
but we shall remember that we are the servants of God, and try to please 
him in all things. " Not slothful in business ; fervent in spirit ; serv- 
ing the Lord." 

After Jotham's death, Ahaz, his son, was made king of Judah. Ahaz 
was not like his father; he was a very wicked man. Ahaz worshipped 
images, and the gods of the heathen nations, and sacrificed to them, and 
burned his children in the fire before these idols. God, for this dreadful 
wickedness, soon punished him. The king of Syria came and fought 
against Ahaz, and took many of the people prisoners, and carried them 
away to Damascus. And some were slain by Pekah, king of Israel, and 
others were taken captive to Samaria. 

But there was then in Samaria a good prophet, named Oded, and 
when he saw all these poor people from Judah brought into the city, he 
felt sad. Why ? Because Judah was a part of God's people as well as 
Israel. Israel and Judah were brethren ; they ought to have been kind 
one to the other — friends, not enemies. And though God was angry with 
Judah, Oded knew that he loved his people still, and would be angry with 
Israel for taking them prisoners. 

So Oded went boldly to the army of Israel, and said, " God has 
given the children of Judah into your power, because they have sinned 
against him. You have slain some of them and taken many more, and 
brought them as prisoners here. And now you are going to make slaves 
of them ; you show them no love, no pity. Why are you so cruel to these 
poor people ? They are your brethren ; and though they have sinned, 
remember that you have sinned too. Now, attend to me, and send home 
these prisoners, whom you have taken captive, and do not make God 
angry with you." 

Some of the nobles of Israel attended to the good prophet, and said 
to the soldiers, " You shall not bring the prisoners here. We have sinned 
very much already ; do not let us sin still more." So the soldiers left the 
prisoners, and all the riches they had taken, before the princes and the 
people. Many of these prisoners were without clothes ; and some were very 
weak and sickly ; and all were hungry and wanted food. But the kind 
princes gave these poor people clothes, and shoes, and food, and water. 

Then the princes took those who were weak and sickly, and put 



THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 



255 



them upon asses, and gave them all they wanted for their journey, and 
sent them away. Where were they going? Home to Judah, to their own 
country. The princes carried all the prisoners as far as Jericho, and then 
returned to Samaria. 

Hezekiah was now king of Judah. He was the son of Ahaz, but he 
was not like his father; 



Hezekiah was a holy man. 
When he began to reign, 
the kingdom of Judah was 
in a sad state. The holy 
temple of God was shut 
up ; idol altars were in 
all the high places ; in- 
cense was burnt to new 
gods, and sacrifices offered 
to them, and not to the 
Lord, the true God. Ahaz 
had done this ; but Heze- 
kiah began to undo it all 
directly, for he knew it 
was his duty, as king, 
to teach and command 
the people to serve God. 

So first, Hezekiah 
called together the priests 
and the Levites, because 
it was their business to 
take care of God's tem- 
ple and service, and of 
the holy things. He spoke 
very solemnly to the priests 
and Levites, and yet very 
affectionately, like a kind 
father. Rulers and 
to those they are set over. They must be strict, but they may be gentle 
and loving too. It is best to do all things in love. 

Hezekiah said, " Hear what I am going to tell you. Our fathers 




ODED INTERCEDING FOR THE CAPTIVES, 
governors ought always to be kind and affectionate 



•256 



THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 



forsook God, and worshipped idols, and shut up the holy temples, and 
burnt no incense, and offered no sacrifices to God. All this has made 
him angry, and he has sent trouble and sorrow upon Judah, to punish his 
people for their sin. Now let us return to God, and serve him 1 with all 

our hearts. You are the 
priests of the Lord. He 
has chosen you to offer 
sacrifices to him, and to 
burn incense. Now, then, 
arise and serve him. Put 
away these idols, and let 
us make a covenant with 
our God, and then we 
shall have his blessing, 
and his anger will be 
turned away." 

The priests and 
Levites attended to what 
their good king said, and 
willingly obeyed him. 
They went directly to the 
house of God, and cleansed 
it, and took away all the 
idolatrous things, and de- 
stroyed them. Among 
these things was the 
brazen serpent which 
Moses had made in the 
wilderness. The people 
honored this serpent, and 
burned incense to it. 
idols DESTROYED by hezekiah. There are people now 

in many countries as foolish as the people of Judah. The ignorant 
heathen give to dumb idols honor and worship which belong only to God. 
Thus they disobey the commandment which says, " Thou shalt not 
make any graven images ; thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship 
them." Hezekiah commanded the brazen serpent to be taken away; and 




THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 257 

lie broke it in pieces, to show the people it was only a piece of brass 
without power to help them. 

Then the Levites brought back the holy vessels which Ahaz had 
taken away, and put them in the temple again. All was now ready; the 
temple was cleansed, the altars, and the tables, and the she w-b read, and 
the holy things, were in their right places. Then Hezekiah rose very 
early in the morning, and called the rulers of the city, and went up to 
the house of the Lord. Why? Because they were going to offer sacrifices 
there ; to confess their sins, and to pray for forgiveness. They brought 
bullocks, and rams, and lambs, and goats, for a sin-offering for the king- 
dom ; and Hezekiah commanded the priests to offer all these animals on 
the altar of the Lord. Then the priests killed the bullocks and the lambs, 
and the rams, and sprinkled the blood upon the altar. Afterwards, they 
brought the goats, and laid their hands upon them, confessing the people's 
sin, and killed them, to make atonement for all Israel. 

We have been reading about Hezekiah's happiness, now we must 
read about his troubles. All people in this world must have trouble some- 
times ; God's people, and wicked people too. But when God sends trouble 
to his people, he sends it in love. He sends it to teach them to trust in 
him more, and to love him more ; and he can comfort them in all their 
sorrows, and deliver them if he please. 

But what was Hezekiah's trouble? There was a king of Assyria, 
named Sennacherib. He was a very wicked man, and a very ambitious 
king, and he did not like Hezekiah to enjoy his kingdom in peace. Sen- 
nacherib wished to take possession of Judah, and to reign over it himself. 
So he made ready a large army, and sent it against Jerusalem, with Rab- 
shakeh his captain. When Hezekiah saw the army coming, he sent some 
of his great men out to speak to Rabshakeh, and ask him why he was come. 

Then Rabshakeh told them his master's message, and a very wicked 
message it was. ' Thus saith the great king of Assyria : I am come to 
this land to destroy it. Who can deliver you from my hand? Can the 
iing of Egypt ? Do you trust in him ? He has no power to help you. 
Does your king Hezekiah tell you to trust in God? Does he say, the 
Lord will deliver you ? Do not attend to Hezekiah. God cannot deliver 
you. I have fought against many nations, and conquered them. Their 
gods could not save them , and how can your God save you ? Attend to 
me; serve me, and do not hearken to Hezekiah." 
17 



258 THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 

The men of Judali heard Sennacherib's message, but they made no 
answer ; for Hezekiah had told them not to give an answer to Rabshakeh 
but to come back directly. When Hezekiah heard the message, he was 
very much troubled. He rent his clothes, and covered himself with sack- 
cloth, as signs of his great sorrow. 

But Hezekiah knew where to find help. Where did he go? Did he 
ask the king of Egypt to help him ? No ; Hezekiah could not trust in 
him. Did he go to his soldiers, and make them ready for battle ? No ; 
Hezekiah knew that they alone could have no power against the great 
Assyrian army. Where did he go? He went into the house of the Lord, 
and told all his troubles to God. Hezekiah knew that God was stronger 
than Sennacherib, and that he was his friend, and could hear his prayer, 
and deliver him from his enemies. 

When Hezekiah had prayed to God, he sent to the good prophet 
Isaiah, to ask for advice from him. Hezekiah's messengers came to Isaiah 
covered with sackcloth, and full of sorrow. They said, " Thus saith Heze- 
kiah, This is a day of trouble and sorrow. The king of Assyria has sent 
Rabshakeh to speak blasphemy against God. But it may be, the Lord 
will hear the wicked words of Rabshakeh, and deliver his people ; and we 
ask thy prayer for those who are left." God had told Isaiah what to say 
to Hezekiah ; he had a message of comfort for these poor, sorrowful people. 

Isaiah said, " Tell your master not to fear the words of Rabshakeh. 
God himself will deliver you from this great army. The king of Assyria 
shall not hurt Jerusalem ; he shall not shoot an arrow there, nor come 
against it with shields. God will defend the city, and smite the Assyrian 
army, and make their king return to their own land ; and there he shall 
fall by the sword. ; ' 

Then the messengers returned, and told Hezekiah what Isaiah had 
said ; and Hezekiah believed in God, and trusted all to him, and was com- 
forted. And was the army of Assyria destroyed ? Yes ; but not by Heze- 
kiah, nor by his soldiers, nor his people. They all waited quietly that 
night for God to deliver them. 

And, in the night, God sent out his destroying angel to the army 
of the Assyrians. These wicked men were all asleep in their camp, little 
thinking of the punishment that was coming. They did not care for God ; 
they laughed at his power, and at his people, and thought they were safe, 
and feared nothing. But while they were lying asleep in their camp, the 



THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 



259 



destroying angel came down from heaven, and went from tent to tent, and 
smote all the soldiers of that large army ; one hundred and eighty-five 
thousand were slain, without time to repent and ask for pardon ! 

The people of Judah arose in the morning, and looked towards their 
enemies' camp. What did 
they see ? No cruel ene j 
mies were there now ; no 



- ^ 



wicked Rabshakeh speak- 
ing blasphemy against 
God. All was quiet. The 
bodies of the Assyrians 
were lying dead upon the 
ground ; their souls were 
gone to appear before the 
great God whom they had 
despised and blasphemed. 
Sennacherib himself re- 
turned to his own coun- 
try, but he did not live 
there long. Soon after, 
when he was worshipping 
in the temple of his 
idol god, his sons rushed 
in, and smote him, and 
killed him. 

What a sad end of 
Sennacherib and all his 
army ! How dreadful it 
is to despise God, and 
rebel against him ! He 
will, sooner or later, 
punish all his enemies. AN ANGEL DESTROYS SENNACHERIB'S HOST. 

They cannot always resist his power and rush on headlong in their evil ways. 

Soon after God had delivered Hezekiah from the Assyrian army, the 
good king became very, very ill ; so ill that he thought he must soon die. 
The kind prophet Isaiah came to him, and said, " Set thine house in 
order, for thou shalt die and not live." This was a solemn message. 




260 THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 

Hezekiah felt this: and when Isaiah told him to prepare for death, he 
"turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord." 

Hezekiah was ready to die. He had long loved and served God; 
his sins had been washed away, and his heart had been made new. Was 
he afraid to die ? No ; but when he thought that death was so near, he 
felt that he wanted strength and comfort, and he knew who alone could 
give them. When he had been in trouble and difficulty before, he had 
sought God in his house. But Hezekiah could not go there now; he 
thought he should never go to God's temple again. 

But God was with Hezekiah still, and could hear his prayers on a 
sick bed, and comfort him there as he had done in the temple. Hezekiah 
wept very much when he prayed. Was he sorry to die ? He could not 
be sorry to leave a wicked world, and go to his home in heaven ; but, 
perhaps, he was sorry when he remembered his kingdom, and the people 
whom he loved so much, to think that, after his death, they might have a 
king who would not teach them rightly, and that they might fall into sin 
and idolatry again. 

Hezekiah had been very useful. He had done much good in Judah^ 
and he wanted to do more. God's people should be willing to go, and 
their friends willing to part with them, whenever this is God's will. Heze- 
kiah wept, but he did not murmur. He was ready to submit to God, and 
left all to him. 

And did Hezekiah die? No; it pleased God to spare his life. God 
had more work for him to do, and he told him by the prophet Isaiah, that 
he would add to his life fifteen years. This message surprised the king 
very much ; he did not disbelieve God's promise, but he wanted to be still 
more assured of it; so he asked Isaiah, "What shall be the sign that the 
Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord again ? " 

Isaiah answered, " God will give the sign upon yonder sun-dial. 
Shall the shadow there go forward ten degrees, or shall it go back ten 
degrees ? " Hezekiah said, " Let the shadow go back ten degrees." Then 
Isaiah cried to the Lord, and asked him to give this sign to king Heze- 
kiah. And God did as he asked. The king looked at the sun-dial, and 
he saw the shadow on it moving ; but the shadow did not move forward 
as usual. It went back ten degrees, and then it stopped upon a degree it 
had passed long before. 

Why was this ? How can we understand it ? We cannot. It was 



THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 



261 



a miracle which God alone could do ; and he was pleased to do it now, to 
strengthen the faith of Hezekiah, and to convince him that the God who 
could bring back the shadow on the dial, could bring Hezekiah back also 
to life and health again. 

Hezekiah was now well, and the first thing he did after his 
recovery was to go to the 
house of the Lord. There 
he thanked his merciful 
God who had so wonder- 
fully healed him, and gave 
himself up again to his 
service. When we are 
raised from illness this 
is what we should do. 
First, thank God who has 
healed us, and then ask 
him to help us to love 
and serve him better than 
we did before. 

Hezekiah wrote a 
beautiful song of praise 
after his recovery, thank- 
ing God for his great 
mercy. All the people of 
Judah rejoiced when they 
saw their king restored to 
them again ; it was a time 
of great joy in Jerusalem, 
and other people rejoiced 
too in his recovery. The 
king of Babylon wrote let- 
ters to Hezekiah, and sent 
him a present. Hezekiah isaiah's prediction to hezekiah. 

was pleased to see the messengers of the king of Babylon. He was very kind 
to them, and gave them all they wished, and showed them his possessions ; 
his gold, and silver, and armor, and houses, and everything he had. Was 
this right ? It was right to be kind and hospitable. The Bible tells us to be 




262 THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 

so. But Hezekiah felt very proud when he showed his riches to the mes- 
sengers of the king of Babylon, and that was wrong. He wanted them to 
praise him, and to go home and tell their master what a great king 
Hezekiah was. 

That was pride ; it was love of the world, and of worldly things, 
and worldly praise. We are commanded not to seek the praise of men, 
but the praise of God; not to seek to please men, but to please God. 
Hezekiah did not please God now. 

The messengers went away ; ' and, perhaps, Hezekiah soon forgot his 
sin ; but God had not forgotten it. He had seen all. He had looked into 
the heart of Hezekiah when he was showing his riches to the messengers, 
and had seen there all Hezekiah's pride and foolish vanity ; and now he 
was going to punish his sinful servant. One day Isaiah came to see 
Hezekiah; but he did not look upon Hezekiah as he used to look. Then 
Isaiah asked, "Who were those men who came to Jerusalem? From 
whence came they?" Hezekiah answered, "They came from a very dis- 
tant country, from Babylon." 

Isaiah asked again, "What have they seen in thy house?" Perhaps 
Hezekiah began now to feel his sin, and to be ashamed of it, but he did 
not try to deny or excuse it. He confessed directly, "I have shown them 
everything in my house." Then Isaiah said, " Hear the words of the Lord: 
Very soon all the riches which thou hast laid up, shall be taken away to 
Babylon, and thy sons shall be carried captive, and they shall be servants 
to the king of Babylon." 

This was the punishment of Hezekiah. He had loved his riches 
too much; God would soon take them all away. He had proudly shown 
his possessions to the messengers of the king of Babylon; the king of 
Babylon would one day come, and carry those possessions to his own 
country, and take Hezekiah's children there as helpless prisoners. How 
foolish it is to trust in earthly things, and love them so much ! They 
cannot always stay with us ; and perhaps we may lose them very soon. 
It is best and wiser to have our riches and possessions in heaven. We 
can never lose our heavenly treasures; they will last for ever. 

Hezekiah felt his sin, and submitted humbly to the punishment. 
He asked for pardon, and for grace to help him to be humble, and to love 
the world less, and God more. And God in mercy heard his prayer, and 
told him that evil should not yet come upon the land of Judah. This 



THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 263 

comforted Hezekiah, and he thanked God and said, "There shall be peace 
and truth in my days." 

This story ought to teach us how weak and sinful we all are. 
Hezekiah was a good man ; but when he was left to himself, when he 
trusted to his own strength and goodness, he forgot to ask for God's grace, 
he began to sin directly. Our hearts are full of pride, and of every other 
sin, which God alone can help us to subdue. Jesus Christ says, "Without 
me ye can do nothing." 

The fifteen years passed away. They were happy and prosperous 
years; but they soon ended, and then the time came when Hezekiah must 
die. And he was willing to die now; he did not wish more years added 
to his life. He had had enough of the world, and was glad to leave its 
sins, and follies, and vanities, and to go to his home in heaven. 

We do not know when we shall die. God has not told us, as he 
told Hezekiah, how many years longer we shall live. Perhaps we may 
live fifteen years, or more; perhaps we may die this year. We cannot 
tell. But are we ready to die ? Have our sins been repented of, and 
forgiven ? Have our hearts been made new by God's Holy Spirit ? Do we 
love God better than all the world, and are we trying to serve him in all 
we do ? If not, we cannot be ready to die, and this is a very awful thought. 
Death may come in a moment; and where will the soul go then, if it is 
not prepared for heaven ? Seek, like Hezekiah, to be ready for death. 

Manasseh, Hezekiah's son, now reigned over Judah. He was not 
like his good father; he was an idolater, and built again all the idol-altars 
which Hezekiah had thrown down. He worshipped the sun, and moon, 
and stars; he burnt his children in sacrifice to idols, and set up an image 
in God's holy temple. The people of Judah soon learnt to do as Manasseh 
did, and all the country became again full of idolatry, and rebellion 
against God. 

God warned Manasseh and his people; he spoke to them by his 
prophets; but this wicked nation would not attend to the warning. Then 
punishment came; all those troubles of which Isaiah had spoken to 
Hezekiah. The king of Assyria sent, and took Manasseh prisoner, and 
bound him in chains, and brought him to Babylon. 

Manasseh now felt how dreadful it is to sin against God. He 
thought of all his past sins; his wicked idolatry, and forgetfulness of the 
true God. And then, perhaps, he remembered his good father, and all the 



264 



THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 



holy lessons Hezekiah had taught hiin many years before. Manasseh had 
not then cared for the things which Hezekiah loved so much. He had 
been, perhaps, a rebellious, disobedient child, and had given his kind 
father much trouble and sorrow. But Hezekiah had often prayed that God 

would have mercy on his 
son : and now, after so 




many years, 
kiah was in 



when Heze- 
his grave, 
God answered his prayers. 
Manasseh repented 
in his captivity. His sor- 
rows brought him to God. 
" When he was in afflic- 
tion, he besought the Lord 
his God, and humbled 
himself greatly before the 
God of his fathers, and 
prayed unto him." And 
did God hear Manasseh's 
prayer? Yes, God is so 
merciful, that he will hear 
and pardon all who truly 
repent. He casts out none 
who come to him, if they 
believe in him. God heard 
and blessed Manasseh. 
He delivered him from his 
trouble, and brought him 
home to his own king- 
dom again ; and Manasseh 
reigned in peace in Jeru- 
captivity and REPENTANCE OF MANASSEH. salem. He did not reign 

now as he had reigned before. Manasseh had learnt "that the Lord he 
was God;" so he took away the idols, and threw down the altars, and 
commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. The last part of 
Manasseh's life was happy. Why? Because Manasseh was at peace with 
God, and he had his blessing. 



THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 265 

Amon, Manasseh's son, reigned now in Judah. He worshipped idols, 
as his father had done at first ; but Anion did not, like his father, repent 
of his sins, and humble himself before God. He grew worse and worse; 
and at last his servants conspired against him, and slew him, and made 
his son Josiah king of Judah. 

Josiah was a little boy when he began to reign ; only eight years 
old. We have read before of man}^ little boys who began when they were 
very young to love and fear the Lord ; and Josiah was like these good 
children. The Bible tells us "he did that which was right in the sight of 
the Lord." But how could Josiah know what was right? The Bible tells 
us this too. It was because Josiah was taught of God. " While he was 
yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father,'' and God 
who had taken care of David, and loved and blessed him all his life, 
heard the prayer of young Josiah, and loved and blessed him also. God 
gave him his Holy Spirit to teach him to do right, and to rule his king- 
dom well. 

Josiah was ignorant, and weak, and sinful, like other children ; it 
was the Spirit of God, not his own wisdom, and strength, and goodness, 
that made him do right in the sight of the Lord. How happy Josiah was, 
to have a heavenly Father to keep and guide him, when his earthly father 
was dead ! He was a happy child, because he was a holy child. And 
may not children now be as holy and as happy as Josiah was ? Yes, if 
they seek to be so, as he sought. God is as willing to attend to children 
now as he was when Josiah lived. He will hear the prayers of every 
child who humbly seeks him. Jesus still says, " I love them that love me, 
and they that seek me early shall find me." 

When Josiah grew older, he was anxious to do all he could for the 
service of God; and he commanded that the holy temple should be repaired. 
Money was collected from the people who came to God's house ; and this 
money was given to carpenters, and masons, and builders, and they bought 
wood and stone, and began to repair the temple. The money given to 
these men was not counted. The king and the priests knew that the 
workmen were faithful and honest, and that they would not steal nor waste 
the money; for they were the servants of God, and remembered always 
that his eye was upon them. 

When Hilkiah, the priest, went into the house of the Lord to 
bring out the money, he found there the book of the law of God ; and he 



266 



THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 



carefully brought it out, and sent it to the king. Josiah honored this book 
very much, because it was the book of God; his holy law was written in 
it. Josiah told one of his servants to read the book to him ; and he 
listened to it very attentively, and very reverently. This is what we ought 

to do when we have the 
Bible read to us; and wher 
we read it to ourselves, 
we should remember that 
it is God's word, and attend 
to it very solemnly, and 
seek to understand it. 

But when Josiah 
had heard the book read, 
he began to weep; and he 
rent his clothes, and was 
in very great trouble. Why 
was this ? What did God's 
law say to him to make 
him so unhappy ? It told 
him of God's holiness and 
hatred of sin, and of his 
anger against those who 
disobey his commands. 
Josiah felt that he and his 
people had many times 
disobeyed God ; and he was 
afraid that soon God might 
punish them, because they 
had done so much to make 
him angry. This thought 
made Josiah tremble and 
josiah CONSULTS The PROPHETESS- rend his clothes. And 

when sinners read the Bible now, there is much to make them tremble too. 
We read there that " all have sinned," and "the soul that sinneth it shall die." 
There was a good woman living at Jerusalem, named Huldah. She 
was a prophetess ; and God honored her very much in making known his 
will to her, by his Spirit. When Josiah was in so much trouble after 




THE Lx^ST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 267 

reading God's law, he sent messengers to Hnldali to ask her advice. God 
had seen all Josiah's trouble ; he knew all his thoughts, and he had sent a 
message of comfort for him to the prophetess Huldah. She told the 
messengers, that God was indeed angry with the people of Judah, and that 
he would surely punish them as his law threatened ; but that he was not 
angry with Josiah. 

He said to him, " Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst 
humble thyself before God, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before 
me, I have heard thee, saith the Lord. Thou shalt be gathered to thy 
grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see the evil that I will bring upon 
this place." This comforted Josiah. What a blessing it is to have God 
for our friend ! Then we need never fear ; for he will always be with us, 
to keep, and bless, and comfort us. If he please, he can preserve us from, 
all evil ; or he can take us away from it, as he took away Josiah, in 
peace. ' The righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall 
enter into peace." 

Josiah read the law of God to the people. He made a holy covenant 
with God, to love and serve him with all his heart; and then he made his 
people promise that they too would serve the Lord. The people were 
willing and obedient ; and they put away their idols, and said, " We will 
serve the Lord." Then Josiah threw down the idol-altars, and broke 
in pieces the images, and destroyed the altar which Jeroboam had set 
up in Bethel. 

Long ago, we read the story of the prophet who came to Bethel, in 
Jeroboam's time, and prophesied that the idol-altars should be thrown down 
and men's bones burnt upon them. Now, this prophecy was fulfilled : 
Josiah was the king who destro}^ed the altars, as God had said. Josiah 
saw the tombs of many of the wicked priests ; and he opened these tombs 
and took out the bones, and burnt them upon the altar. Then he slew 
the living idolatrous priests, and burnt their bones too. 

But there was one tomb in Bethel which Josiah did not open. There 
was a title upon that tomb, and Josiah asked what the title was. The 
people said, " That is the grave of the prophet who came from Judah, many 
years ago, and prophesied about those things which thou hast done to the 
altar of Bethel." Then Josiah said, " Let no man move his bones." So 
his bones were left quietly in their resting-place, with the bones of the old 
prophet who was buried by him. 



268 



THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 



After the idols were destroyed, Josiah kept the feast of the Passover, 
with all his people, in Jerusalem. This good king tried to teach his 
subjects the right way; and God blessed him in what he did, and his 
country was peaceful and happy many years. But after all this the king of 

Egypt fought against As- 
syria, and Josiah went out 
to resist him. It was 
wrong of Josiah to join in 
this war without God's 
direction ; and he was pun- 
ished for his folly : — he 
was killed in the battle. 

His body was brought 
to Jerusalem ; and all the 
people wept over it, be- 
cause they loved and hon- 
ored their king. He was 
safe now from all the evils 
that were coming on his 
country. His body was 
quietly resting in the grave, 
and his soul was in that 
happy place where no evil 
can come, and where so 
many of his fathers had 
gone before. 

There have been 
many good kings, of whom 
we read in history, and 
many bad ones. The higher 
our position is and the more 
death OF king josiah. influence we exert, the more 

careful we should be to do what is right. No rulers are more honored 
than those who are wise and good, even though they may not be so great 
as some Caesar or Napoleon. " To be only great as I am good," is an 
excellent motto for all young people, and if they follow it they cannot 
make any mistake. 




THE CAPTIVITY. 

NEBUCHADNEZZAR, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, and 
took Jehoiakiin prisoner, and bound him with chains, and was 
going to carry him to Babylon. But Jehoiakim died before he 
could be taken there; and his dead body was cast out unburied, beyond 
the gates of Jerusalem. None pitied, none cared for this wicked and rebel- 
lious king. 

Nebuchadnezzar went into the house of God, and took away all the 
holy vessels he found there, and caried them to Babylon, and put them 
into his idol's temple. Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, reigned in Judah 
after his father, but only a very little time. Nebuchadnezzar came again 
to Jerusalem, and made Zedekiah, a relation of Jehoiachin, king ; and carried 
Jehoiachin to Babylon, where he lived some years. A great many of the 
people of Judah were carried to Babylon also; all the princes, and nobles, 
and work-people; only the poorest of the people were left in Jerusalem, 
with Zedekiah to reign over them. Jeremiah was there too ; he was left 
to prophesy, and to warn the people of Judah. 

Among the captives taken to Babylon, were some young nobles and 
princes. The king of Babylon was pleased with these children ; and he said 
they should be taught all the learning of the Babylonians ; and after a few 
years be taken into his palace to stand before him. The Bible tells us a 
great deal about four of these young princes. Their names were Daniel, 
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. One of Nebuchadnezzar's servants had 
the care of them, whose name was Melzar. Every day he brought 
them meat and wine from the king's table ; for Nebuchadnezzar sent the 
young princes every thing he thought they might like ; and they had 
masters to teach them, and all that this world could give to make them happy. 

But Daniel and his young friends had learnt in their own country 
better wisdom than they were taught at Babylon; they had learnt to seek 
happiness, not in this world, but in God ; and all their delight was in holy 
and heavenly things. When they came to Babylon, they knew that they 
should be often tempted to forget God, the God of Israel, and to love the 
things of the world, the foolish and wicked pleasures of Babylon. But 
these children were determined that they would not forsake their kind 
and merciful God in this strange and wicked land. 

269 



270 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



The food which was brought to the young princes was sonietiii.es 
food forbidden by the Jewish law ; and sometimes it had been offered to 
the idols of Babylon. Daniel and his friends knew that it was wrong to 
eat this food. They were not now in their own country ; but they wished 

still to obey the laws which 
God himself had given to 
them ; and they determined 
not to displease him by 
eating what he liad forbid- 
den. They therefore re- 
fused trie food offered them. 
Afterward Daniel 
incurred the displeasure of 
the king of Babylon, who 
at this time was Darius, 
and was cast into a den of 
lions. When the king came 
to the den, he cried out, 
"O, Daniel, is thy God, 
whom thou servest, able to 
deliver thee from the lions ?" 
Darius waited very anx- 
iously for the answer : but 
how glad he was when he 
heard Daniel's voice again, 
and found that he was still 
alive and well in the lions' 
den ! And what did Daniel 
say ? He said, " O king, 
my God has sent his angel, 
and hath shut the lions' 
DANIEL'S ACCUSERS THROWN TO THE LIONS. mouths, and they have not 
hurt me." Then Darius was glad, and he commanded that Daniel should 
be taken out of the den. " So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and 
no hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God." 

And now the king determined to punish Daniel's wicked accusers ; 
so he commanded them to be brought and cast into the den. They had 




THE CAPTIVITY. 271 

no God to preserve them ; no holy angel was sent to shnt the lions' 
mouths for them ; no, the savage beasts sprang upon them in a moment, 
and broke all their bones to pieces before they came to the bottom of the 
den. All the people saw and wondered ; and confessed that Daniel's God 
was indeed a powerful God, able to deliver his servants and to punish his 
enemies. And then Darius wrote to all the people in his kingdom, and 
told them the wonderful story of Daniel's deliverance, and commanded 
them to fear and tremble before the great and powerful God of Daniel. 

Let this powerful God be your friend, as he was Daniel's; and then 
you need not fear any enemy, nor any trouble. He is the " Father of 
mercies, and the God of all comfort who comforteth us in all our tribulation." 

The history of the Jewish captivity is contained in the book of Bzra. 
After seventy years light broke in upon their darkness, the years of their 
exile from their dear Jerusalem were ended, and they saw the dawn of a 
brighter day. 

Ezra was a priest very skilful in the law, the son of Seraiah, the 
high priest, who was slain by Nebuchadnezzar. He was also a ready 
scribe in the law of Moses, and a careful student and collector of the 
sacred books. He has been called a second Moses, having been instru- 
mental, like him, in leading Israel out of captivity ; in preserving the holy 
law, as Moses gave it ; and having lived, as it is said, the same number of 
years, that is, one hundred and twenty. 

Cyrus, the king of Persia, who conquered Babylon, as Babylon had 
conquered the Jews, found the Jews captive there, and was moved by God 
to set them all at liberty, and gave them every encouragement to return 
to their own country. In his proclamation, Cyrus says to the Jews, " The 
Lord God of heaven hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, 
which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people ? — his God 
be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and 
build the house of the Lord God of Israel (he is the God), which is 
in Jerusalem." 

Most eagerly did "the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, 
and the priests and the Levites, accept of this release, for God had raised 
up their spirits to go up to build the house of the Lord." 

Cyrus also commanded that those who were rich should help those 
who were poor, and give them silver, gold, goods, and cattle, to enable 
them to return and live in their own country. So " all that were about 



272 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



them," the Chaldeans as well as the rich Jews, helped forward the return 

to the desolate land. 

Besides the money, goods, and cattle, thus given to these people, 

Cod also inclined the heart of Cyrus to give up all the rich plunder of 

the temple, which Nebu- 
chadnezzar had carried 
away. This consisted of 
golden and silver chargers 
or dishes, knives, basins, 
and other vessels of gold 
and silver, amounting in 
all to five thousand four 
hundred. 

The whole number 
that returned to their own 
country is stated at forty- 
two thousand three hun- 
dred and sixty, besides 
seven thousand servants, 
and two hundred singing 
men. But then these were 
not the whole of the Jews. 
Many of the lower orders 
were left in the country 
to till the ground ; but all 
that were ingenious, as 
artificers, or rich, or had 
any influence in the coun- 
try, were taken away. 
Moreover, many now fixed 

in Babylon, and who had 
THE JEWS PREPARING TO RETURN. nQ loye for the{r Qwn cotm . 

try, and no religion to make them desirous of serving God in his temple, 
remained behind. 

It is said that "Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the 
Lord." He learned the holy truth of God that he might "teach in Israel 
statutes and judgments ; " that is, " the laws moral, ceremonial, and civil." 




THE CAPTIVITY. 



273 



By moral laws are meant those which relate to our duty to God and our 
neighbor — not to swear, break the Sabbath, lie, steal, and do other wicked 
things, but to love God and to love our neighbors, and to try and do them 
good. By ceremonial laws, are intended those which regulated all the 
customs of Jewish worship. 
And by civil laws are 
pointed out those which 
regulate our conduct in 
society towards each other, 
especially as citizens, watch- 
ing over each other's inter- 
ests as a body of people, 
and behaving orderly in our 
connection with mankind 
around us. 

Such a man as Hzra, 
who learned, and did, and 
taught these laws, was 
indeed a blessing to his 
nation. To show how God 
approved of him, he gave 
him the greatest success 
at the court of Babylon ; 
for the king wrote a letter 
granting him a number of 
favors for his people, and 
giving him very great 
power. He wrote a letter 
which, you will observe, 
begins, " Artaxerxes, king 
of kings, unto Ezra the 
priest." This title su- 




EZRA OBTAINING HIS COMMISSION. 

King of kings, 



premely, or above all, belongs to Jesus Christ, who is 
and Lord of lords." 

It was, however, neither a profane, nor a false title, as used by 
Artaxerxes, for he was king over other kings, who, having been conquered 
by his people, were tributary to him, and held their crowns at his pleasure. 
18 



274 THE CAPTIVITY. 

In this letter, the king granted permission to all the Jews which yet 
remained at Babylon, to go to Jerusalem. He also authorized him to 
inquire into all the behavior of the Jews at Jerusalem, and to see if it was 
such as the law of his God required. 

He likewise, with his nobles, gave him rich presents, and he granted 
him leave to collect gifts of gold and silver, and to take them to Jeru- 
salem in aid of the temple ; particularly to buy beasts for the purpose of 
offering them up to God according to the law. The king also ordered the 
ministers of the holy religion to be free from all taxes ; and he authorized 
Kzra to appoint wise and just magistrates to govern the people, and to 
punish those that broke the laws. 

When Bzra thought of this kindness of the king, he blessed God, 
and owned that it was he who put it into the king's heart. And Bzra 
gladly undertook to fulfil all his commission, and for this purpose went to 
Jerusalem, accompanied by many chief men of Israel, whom he now per- 
suaded to accompany him. 

Some of the pious princes went to him in great grief, and lamented 
that this people had acted in a very ungrateful manner towards God, and 
instead of serving him more faithfully, united themselves with idolaters, 
" doing according to their abominations." Widowers had even married 
Canaanitish and other heathen wives, and sanctioned the same marriages 
among their sons ; not only so, but some of the prinees and rulers, who, 
from their higher rank, ought to have set a better example, had been 
guilty of the like offence against God's laws. 

When Bzra heard these things, he rent his clothes, plucked off the 
hair of his head and beard, and sat down silent on the ground. These 
were all customs among the Jews expressive of the greatest grief. While 
Ezra thus grieved, a number of pious men gathered themselves around 
him ; and at the time of the evening sacrifice, Bzra rose up, fell upon his 
knees, and lamented the sins of the people, and then left himself and them 
in the hands of God as a God of mercy. 

Seeing his excessive grief, great numbers had now gathered around 
him, and while he wept they also wept — men, women, and children. At 
length, one whose name was Shecaniah, acknowledged the guilt of the 
people, and expressed a hope that they would do the evil complained of 
no more. He, therefore, advised that all the strange wives, which had 
been taken against the command of God, should be put away; and the 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



275 



chief priests, Levites, and all Israel, swore it should be done as Shecaniah 
and Ezra had proposed. 

Within three days after this, all Judah and Benjamin assembled, 
being called together, — and Ezra told them how they had sinned against 
God, and entreated them 
to put away their heathen 
wives. And they all said 
they would do so. 

Proper inquiry was 
then made about all their 
marriages, and in three 
months the examination 
was finished. It was found 
that all classes had some 
who were guilty ; and that, 
in all, about one hundred 
and thirteen had married 
heathen women. 

Thus was this refor- 
mation effected. Those who 
did not approve of it had 
no choice but to be" sepa- 
rated from the congrega- 
tion ; " that is, they were 
not allowed to worship God 
in his temple, and were to 
be cut off from the people, 
and be left without the 
hope of true Israelites. 
Thus, my dear readers, we 
have no choice between 




serving sin and serving THE heathen wives SENT away. 

God. If we continue to serve sin, we must be for ever cut off from his 
favor; but if we forsake sin and serve him, he is full of grace and mercy, 
and will not forsake us. 

We next come to the state of the Jews at Jerusalem about ten years 
after the period mentioned in the Book of Ezra, and in the twentieth year 



276 THE CAPTIVITY. 

of the reign of Artaxerxes. God so ordered matters that at this time some 
Jews had occasion to go to Shnshan, or Snsa, an ancient city in which 
was the winter palace of the kings of Persia. Nehemiah, a pious Jew, 
happened to be the king's cupbearer, which was a place of great honor, 
,and gave him an opportunity of being frequently in the king's presence, 
and that at a time when his heart was cheerful, and he was disposed to 
be kind and good-natured. 

This good man having inquired of his brethren, the Jews, how 
things were going on at Jerusalem, was grieved to learn that the people 
were " in great affliction and reproach," and that the wall of the city was 
still " broken down," and the gates were " burned with fire," as the Baby- 
lonians had left them. 

Then Nehemiah was very sorry, and he "wept and mourned" for 
the sins of his country, which had been the cause of all its suffering; and 
he " fasted and prayed before the God of heaven," beseeching him in 
behalf of his people, and that he might find favor with the king, in trying 
to do something for their good. 

At length, when he was waiting on the king, as he did not usually 
look dull — for good men ought to look happy — the king wondered to see 
him so dejected. And he told him he had great cause to be sad, for he 
had learned that the chief city of his beloved country was still in ruins. 
Then the king wished to know what he could do for him ; Nehemiah 
paused a moment and prayed to God, perhaps thanking him for the favor 
he had already found with the king, and perhaps, also, asking God for 
wisdom to give a right answer. Then he asked the king to let him go to 
Jerusalem, and restore it from its ruins. And the king gave him leave to 
go, and allowed him to fix his own time for staying. 

He next asked the king for letters to the governors of the country 
through which he should pass, that he might meet with every help from 
them in proceeding on his journey; and also for a letter to the keeper of 
the king's forest, that he might obtain from him any quantity of timber 
that might be necessary, for the workmen to use in rebuilding what was 
broken down. This, too, the king granted. Nehemiah sees all his success 
as coming from God, and he says, " The king granted me according to 
the good hand of my God upon me." 

Nehemiah now set off, accompanied with a guard of honor from the 
king, to protect him all the way till he reached Jerusalem. Nehemiah 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



277 



thought it prudent to make no bustle about what he was going to do, lest 
he should be opposed in his work. So he went in the night time, and 
looked all over the ruins of the city. And when he had seen what ought 
to be done, and laid his plans, he called together the chief men of the 
Jews, and he advised them 
to build up the wall which 
surrounded the city; and 
he told them of God's good- 
ness to him, and of his 
success with the king. 
They were so much de- 
lighted at this news, that 
they agreed at once to set 
to work and build, and 
encouraged one another in 
the undertaking. 

Then Sanballat, who 
was a Moabite, and a gov- 
ernor of the Samaritans, 
and Tobiah, an Ammonite, 
who had been raised from 
a slave, and who was now 
a governor as well as San- 
ballat, and Gesheni, who 
was, most likely, an Arab 
chief, — tried all in their 
power to frighten the Jews, 
that they might not go on 
with their work. But Nehe- 
miah knew what he was 
about, and he told them 
that he was sure God would nehemiah inspecting the ruins. 

prosper his countrymen, and therefore they should certainly build ; and 
as for those who oposed them, they had no right to meddle with the affairs 
of Jerusalem, and would do better to mind their own business. 

As soon as it was decided that the city should all be built up, every 
man took his share in the work, the priests first setting the example by 




278 THE CAPTIVITY. 

building the sheep gate, which was most likely the gate through which 
the sheep were brought that were to be sacrificed in the temple. And 
in addition to the priests, tradesmen and workmen of all sorts helped to 
build the walls. Bven the rulers united in this work, and probably not 
only by giving their gold and silver, but also their labor. 

The nobles of Tekoa were, indeed, exceptions, whose names are 
mentioned with disgrace, because " they put not their necks to the work 
of the Lord " — meaning, that the ox works by drawing with his yoke on 
his neck, but they would have no yoke ; or, in other words, they refused 
in any way to afford aid, and did not care at all about their city. The 
daughters of Shallum, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, were also 
among those that assisted. 

While this work was going on, Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, 
was much mortified, and tried to stir up the army which he commanded ; 
and he said, " What do these feeble Jews ? will they fortify themselves ? 
will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day?" — meaning, perhaps, 
that, unless they made very great haste indeed, they would find that a 
stop should be put to their work. " Will they revive the stones out of 
the heaps of the rubbish which are burned ? " 

And Tobiah, the Ammonite, joined him, and laughed at the idea of 
the Jews being able again to build up their wall with such rubbish as 
they had got: " Wiry," said he, "if a fox go up, it shall even break down 
their stone wall," — it will not bear his weight. 

This came to the ears of Nehemiah, who felt for the honor of his 
God; and he was grieved, and prayed to God to take notice of his adver- 
saries, leaving it in his hands to do as he in his wisdom and justice 
should think right. 

In the meantime the Jews proceeded so rapidly, that they soon car- 
ried up the wall all round the city, to half its proper height. Sanballat 
and his companions now found that while they were mocking the Jews 
were working, and when they had learned that they had really built so 
much, their sneerings were turned into rage : " they were very wroth." 
Then they " conspired all of them together, to come and fight against 
Jerusalem, and to hinder it." 

Nehemiah, however, still went on with the work, and while his 
adversaries threatened he prayed. He met all the increasing appearances 
of danger with increasing caution. He placed people with swords, spears, 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



279 



and bows behind the lower walls, which might be attempted before they 
were raised to their proper height ; and he also put men on the higher 
places or towers, to have the greater command of the enemy, and then he 
encouraged the people by an animating speech. "Be ye not afraid of 
them," said he, " remember 
the Lord, who is great and 
terrible, and fight for your 
brethren, your sons and 
your daughters, your wives 
and your houses." How- 
ever, when the adversaries 
saw that the Jews were 
aware of their intentions, 
they gave up the contest. 

Nevertheless, Nehe- 
miah did not give up his 
caution, for he knew that 
he had a bitter and a sub- 
tle foe to deal with. Some 
men were still kept ready 
for any conflict, and all 
worked with one hand, and 
held a weapon with the 
other, or at least had it 
close at hand, or girt about 
them ; and some of the more 
weighty weapons were com- 
mitted to the care of others 
near at hand — the spears, 
the shields, the bows, and 
the habergeons, or breast- 
plates, or coats of mail. rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. 

Nehemiah also appointed a trumpeter to stand by him, and if he 
should see any danger, or hear any alarm — as the workmen were divided 
a great way from each o^her, all around the city — this trumpeter could 
blow his trumpet, and call them all to the place where their help was 
needed. He also ordered all the people to continue in Jerusalem to guard 




280 THE CAPTIVITY. 

it by night, as well as to work by day. Thus they went on with the 
work, and that they might be ready to meet any attack, they never even 
pulled off their clothes, except when it was necessary to send them to be 
washed. Finally the work was finished. 

Nehemiah ordered that the gates of Jerusalem should be kept shut 
every morning, till the sun became hot ; that is, till it was likely there 
were plenty of people risen to defend the city from any attempts to enter 
it by the gates. A similar custom is still to be found among the inhabit- 
ants in the parts of the world about Judea ; for travelers inform us, that 
if a traveller arrives after sunset he finds the gates shut, and on no con- 
sideration will they open them till the next morning, so that those who 
come late are obliged to lodge in the plain. Nehemiah further desired, 
that care should be taken to see that the gates were kept closed, and 
that proper persons should be always on the watch to prevent surprise 
from their enemies. 

Jerusalem had not yet recovered its inhabitants. The city was still 
as large as it was when it was full of people; but the people who returned 
from the captivity in Babylon, had not all taken up their abode there, 
" and the houses were not builded." The number that came out of cap- 
tivity with Zerubbabel did indeed amount to forty-two thousand three 
hundred and sixty, and many more came with Ezra. Yet a great num- 
ber chose to settle in the towns and cities in the country, Jerusalem being 
in such a desolate condition. 

So Nehemiah says, u My God put into mine heart to gather together 
the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned 
by genealogy. And I found a register of them which came up at the 
first, and found written therein, These are the children of the promise, 
that went out of the captivity." This register directed Nehemiah to find 
out to what city each family formerly belonged, and who to the city of 
Jerusalem, " that they might be called upon to come and rebuild their 
houses, and take up their residence there." 

Nehemiah then gives an account of the children of the province of 
Judea as it was now reduced, who came out of the captivity of Babylon 
through the decree of Cyrus. He also tells us of the liberality of those 
who subscribed well for rebuilding the city and the temple ; and he con- 
cludes by informing us, that in a short time <he children of Israel got all 
fixed in their own cities. 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



281 



And now we read of a grand assembly of tne people, which took 
place in the open street, because, probably, there was no place large enough 
to hold them ; and that there, Ezra, at the request of the people, read the 
law of the Lord aloud, " from the morning until mid-day, before the men 
and the women, and those 
that could understand ; 
and the ears of all the 
people were attentive unto 
the book of the law. ' ' This 
was a most serious meet- 
ing. The people all stood 
up to show respect, "Ezra 
blessed the Lord, the great 
God," who had given them 
his holy law, " and all the 
people answered Amen, 
Amen, with lifting up their 
hands, and they bowed 
their heads and they wor- 
shipped the Lord, with 
their faces to the ground." 

There were many 
others who stood by the 
side of Ezra, and who most 
likely sometimes helped 
him by reading a few 
portions while he rested; 
for reading so long in the 
open air, to so great a 
number of people, must 
have fatigued him very 
much. These also, as bringing forth THE LAW. 

well as Ezra, explained such parts as the people could not easily understand. 

The people were so much affected, that they all wept when they 
heard the words of the law, remembering how much they had broken it. 
And Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, or governor, " and Ezra, the priest, the 
scribe, and the Levites, that taught the people, said unto all the people, 




282 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not nor weep." It seems 
that this meeting was kept on the feast of trumpets, which was on the first 
day of the Jews' seventh month ; and as that was usually a day of joy, it 
was not keeping it aright to show sadness. So Nehemiah said unto them, 

" Go your way, eat the 
fat and drink the sweet, 
and send portions unto 
them for whom nothing 
is prepared : for this day 
is holy unto our Lord; 
neither be ye sorry; for 
the joy of the Lord is your 
strength." So all the peo- 
ple did as they were ordered 
to do, and were happy. 

On the second day 
the chiefs of the fathers, 
or heads of the families 
and tribes, made further 
inquiries of Bzra about 
the meaning of many parts 
of the law. "And they 
found written in the law 
which the Lord had com- 
manded to Moses, that the 
children of Israel should 
dwell in booths in the feast 
of the seventh month : and 
that they should publish 
and proclaim in all their 
cities, and in Jerusalem, 
THE READING OF THE LAW. saying, Go forth unto the 

mount, and fetch, olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, 
and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is 
written ; " that is, as it is written in the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus, 
and the fortieth verse. 

You will recollect, my dear young reader, that all this was ordered 




THE CAPTIVITY. 283 

to be done for the purpose of keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, which was 
held to keep in remembrance the travelling life of the Israelites in the 
wilderness, after the}^ had been delivered from Egyptian slavery. Now, 
having been delivered from the Babylonish captivity, and the proper time 
of the year occurring, it was their special duty to keep the same feast. 

So the people fetched the boughs, " and made themselves booths, 
every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the 
courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water-gate, and in the 
street of the gate of Ephraim. All the congregation of them that were 
come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths," 
during the seven days that the feast lasted, to remind them how their 
fathers dwelt in booths in the wilderness. Indeed, " since the days of 
Jeshua," or Joshua, " the son of Nun, unto that day, had not the children 
of Israel done so." Joshua observed the feast when he had brought and 
settled the people of Israel in the land of Canaan ; and it had been 
observed since, but no Feast of Tabernacles had been so heartily and so 
piously celebrated. 

Nehemiah found out that the Invites had been neglected, and the 
people cared so little about religion, that not having provided for them, as 
God had commanded, they had all left the city, and gone into the fields 
to work for themselves. He also soon remedied this evil, and brought 
back the Levites, and made the people bring their tithes of corn, wine, and 
oil, into their treasuries. 

There being no regard paid to religion, the holy Sabbath was 
shamefully abused. God had commanded it to be kept as a holy day, and 
that no manner of work should be done in it ; but on that day they worked 
their wine-presses, to squeeze out the juice of the grapes for the purpose 
of making wine ; and they carried their corn, and loaded their asses, and 
traded with the men of Tyre, who were a sort of pedlars, having many 
wares to sell. 

Nehemiah reproved all this sin, and especially the nobles, who ought 
to have used their authority to prevent it; and he reminded them that 
because their fathers had sinned in the like way, they, their children, had 
so long been suffering, and that this was like asking God to punish them 
again for their iniquity. To prevent any more trading on the Sabbath, he 
ordered the gates of Jerusalem to be shut from the evening before the 
Sabbath till the morning after; and, as he could not trust the faithless 



284 



THE CAPTIVITY. 



men who had been porters at the gates, he set his own people to keep 
them, that no one should enter the city on the Sabbath with any mer- 
chandise about him. 

The Tyrian traders did not like to be baulked in their dealings, and 

lounged about outside the 
walls on the Sabbath-day, 
hoping to entice some of 
the people to come out of 
the city, and to deal with 
them. However, Nehemiah 
was as sharp as they ; and 
seeing what they were 
about, he told them, "if 
ye do so again, I will lay 
hands on you!" and this 
frightened them so that 
they did not come any 
more on the Sabbath. 

A great many of 
the Jews had also married 
strange wives " of Ashdod, 
of Ammon, and of Moab," 
and their children, instead 
of understanding their lan- 
guage, to be able to learn 
the law of God, were 
only fit for heathen, and 
knew but the languages 
of their heathen mothers 
and nurses, which they had. 
taught them. So these 

NEHEMIAH PUNISHING EVIL-DOERS. J ews wou l d be t he fathers 

of idolaters. With these men Nehemiah also contended, when they tried 
to excuse themselves. And he "cursed them;" that is, he denounced the 
judgments which God had spoken against them; and "he smote certain of 
them," or ordered them to be beaten, according to the law; and "he plucked 
off their hair," to shame them, as they had no shame in sinning thus 




THE STORY OF JOB. 285 

openly against God. He also obliged them to swear, that, for the time to 
come, they would never more suffer any such marriages to take place. 

Nehemiah, likewise, found out that a branch of the high priest's 
own family — one of his grandsons — had married a daughter of Sanballat, 
that notorious enemy of the Jews. How little love had that man either to 
God or his country, who could make himself, in duty and interest, a friend 
to him that was a sworn enemy to both ! It seems this young priest 
would not put away his wife, and therefore Nehemiah chased him from 
him — deprived him, degraded him, and made him for ever incapable of 
the priesthood. 

Thus did Nehemiah reform and benefit his countrymen the Jews, 
and aim to promote the honor and glory of his God ; looking only for his 
reward in heaven. This is what he meant when he so often prayed, 
" Remember me, O my God, concerning this." For God does not forget 
what we do for his glory, though it is our duty to do it, though what we 
can do is but little, and though he has no need of our services for his own 
benefit, but all the benefit belongs to ourselves. Young reader ! " only fear 
the Lord and serve him," and he will be sure in his mercy to remember 
you " for good." 

THE STORY OF JOB. 

THERE was dwelling in Uz, in Arabia, a man named Job. Job was 
a very rich man ; he had great possessions of sheep, and camels, and 
oxen, and asses : he was the greatest man in the east at that time. 
And Job was a holy man as well as a rich man. The Bible says, he " feared 
God;" the same God whom Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob feared; and 
he hoped as they did, to be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, who was to 
come into the world to die for sinners. Job had several children ; and he 
taught them to serve God, and prayed for them, and offered sacrifices for 
them, according to the command of God. 

" Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present 
themselves before the Lord ; and Satan came also among them." What 
does this mean ? Who were the sons of God, and why did God let Satan 
come among them ? The Bible does not tell us. Perhaps the sons of God 
were his true and faithful servants who came to worship before him ; and, 
perhaps, Satan came among them, as he comes now among us, to tempt 
them to sin, and to lead them away from God. 



28G THE STORY OF JOB. 

But God spoke to Satan, and said to him, " Whence comest thou ? " 
And Satan answered, " From going to and fro in the earth, and from 
walking up and down in it." Then God asked Satan again, if he had 
considered his servant Job, what a holy and upright man he was, and one 
who feared God. Satan had long known and hated Job, as he knows and 
hates all the people of God; and he even dared to accuse Job before God, 
and to say, that all his goodness was false and hypocritical ; and that he 
pretended to fear God, only that he might be rich, and safe, and prosper- 
ous, and not because he really loved him. 

God knew all the truth about Job. He knew that Job was sincere, 
and not false and hypocritical as Satan said; but it pleased God to allow 
Satan, at that time, to try Job, and to vex and afflict him; and God did 
.jis for Job's own good; to make him more humble, more patient, and 
more believing. So the Lord said to Satan, " All that he hath is in thy 
power, only upon himself put not forth thine hand." Then " Satan went 
forth from the presence of the Lord," to use all the power allowed him, to 
afflict and trouble righteous Job. 

There was a day when Job's sons and daughters were eating, and 
drinking wine in their eldest brother's house ; and there came a messenger 
to Job, and said, "The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside 
them, and some enemies, the Sabeans, fell upon them, and took them 
away, and have slain the servants with the sword ; and I only am escaped 
to tell thee." And while this messenger was speaking, there came another 
to Job, and said, " The fire is fallen from heaven, and has burned up the 
sheep and the servants ; and I only am escaped to tell thee." 

And while he was speaking, another messenger came, and said, 
" The Chaldeans fell upon the camels, and carried them away, and slew 
the servants with the sword, and I only am escaped to tell thee." And 
while this man was speaking, a fourth messenger came, and said, " Thy 
sons and daughters were eating and drinking in their eldest brother's 
house, and there came a great wind, and smote the house, and it fell upon 
the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped to tell thee." 

Poor Job ! a very little time before, he had been the richest and 
most prosperous man in the east. Now, he had lost everything ; his flocks 
and his herds, and his servants, and his children, too, — all were gone. 
I Tow did he bear so much sorrow? There was one thing Job still had, 
and that enabled him to bear all this patiently. 



THE STORY OF JOB. 



287 



Job had not lost his trust in God. He felt quite sure that these 
troubles did not come without God's permission ; and he knew that God 
would only permit what was right and good for him ; so, when Job heard 
all these sad tidings, though he arose and rent his clothes, to show his 
sorrow, yet he fell down 
and worshipped God, to 
show his submission to his 
will, and said, "The Lord 
gave, and the Lord hath 
taken away, blessed be 
the name of the Lord." 

Again there was a 
day when the sons of God 
came to present themselves 
before the Lord, and Satan 
came also among them. 
Then God spoke to Satan, 
as he had done before, and 
asked him if he had con- 
sidered his servant Job, 
who was still faithful, 
though he had been so 
tried and so afflicted. But 
Satan was not satisfied 
with all the troubles Job 
had suffered ; he wished to 
vex and afflict him still 
more ; and he told God, 
that though Job had borne 
the loss of his possessions 
patiently, yet, if his body 
were made to suffer dis- destruction of the flocks of job. 

ease and pain, he would then show that he was only a hypocrite after all, 
and would even curse God to his face. The Lord was pleased, in his 
wisdom, to allow Job to be still more tried and afflicted, so he said to 
Satan, " He is in thy hand ; but save his life." Then Satan went out and 
smote Job with sore boils all over his body. 




288 THE STORY OF JOB. 

Job had now to bear pain, as well as sorrow; yet lie was patient 
and submissive still. And then lie had another and a new trial. His wife 
was living, and she might have comforted Job in his trouble; but instead 
of encouraging him to trust in God, she advised him to put an end to his 
own life ; — to kill himself. She said, " Curse God, and die." 

But Job reproved her for speaking so wickedly, and said, "What? 
Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ? " 
Job knew that all came from God's hand and by God's permission; and 
therefore he was willing to receive whatever happened to him, whether it 
were good or evil. 

When Job's friends came to the place where he was, they looked up, 
and saw him, but they did not know him. He was not now as he once 
had been. When they last visited him, he was prosperous and happy, 
with all his family, and all his possessions, and living in honor and peace, 
the greatest man in the east. But now all was changed. There he sat, 
alone, among the ashes; his body was covered with a dreadful disease; all 
his possessions were gone, his children were dead, and he had no one to 
speak kindly to him, nor to comfort him 

The sight made his friends feel sad, and " They lifted up their voice 
and wept." Then they rent their clothes, and sprinkled dust upon their 
heads, and sat down with him upon the ground; and for seven days they 
did not speak a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great- 
Sometimes when our friends are in very great trouble, as Job was, it is 
not well to try to comfort them by words. It is kinder and wiser to feel 
for them in silence. 

At last, Job began to speak, and to complain bitterly of all his 
sufferings. He was tempted even to wish he had never been born ; and 
to murmur, and be impatient, and to find fault with God himself, who had 
so afflicted him 

And did not Job's friends encourage him to trust in God, and sub- 
mit to his will ? No ; instead of doing this, they only added to his grief 
by unkindly and unjustly accusing him. They told him God never would 
have afflicted him so much if he had not been a very wicked man ; for 
they thought that righteous people were always prosperous, and that only 
the wicked were afflicted; so, when they saw Job in trouble, they said his 
sufferings were sent as a punishment for his sins, and they advised him 
to humble himself before God, and ask for pardon. 



THE STORY OF JOB. 289 

Job knew that he was a sinner ; he knew that he could not trust 
to his own goodness and righteousness: he said, "How should man be just 
before God? If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me." 
Bat Job could not believe that all his troubles were sent to punish him 
for some particular sin ; or, because he had been only pretending to serve 
God, when he did not really love him. No ; Job felt that he had been 
sincere ; not a hypocrite, as his friends unkindly said he was ; and so 
when they accused him, he answered, " My righteousness I hold fast, and 
will not let it go ; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live." 

Now Job and his friends were quite right in some things that they 
said, but in others they were very much mistaken. Job's friends were 
right in advising him to humble himself before God, and ask for pardon ; 
for afflictions are sent by God to lead his people to do this. But they 
were quite wrong in accusing Job of being a wicked man, and a hypocrite, 
because he was afflicted ; for God often afflicts most those who love and 
serve him best, — in love, not in anger ; " Whom the Lord loveth he cor- 
recteth." And though Job was right in saying that he had not brought 
his sufferings on himself by his own wickedness and hypocrisy, yet he 
spoke what was wrong, too ; for he almost accused God of unkindness 
and injustice, in afflicting him after he had so sincerely tried to serve God. 

Job and his friends were not alone when they talked together. A 
young man was sitting by, and listening to all they said ; but he did not 
speak until they were silent ; for they were older than he, and he thought, 
" Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom." This 
young man's name was Elihu. Humility and respect made him keep 
silent so long; but Elihu had much to say, for God had given him great 
wisdom ; and so, when the others left off speaking, he offered to answer 
Job himself. Elihu was angry with what had been said. He was dis- 
pleased with Job, because he had justified himself more than God; and he 
was displeased with his three friends, " because they had found no answer, 
and yet had condemned Job." 

So Elihu said, "Hearken unto me, I also will show my opinion.'' 
Then they all listened, in silence, to what Elihu had to say. 

And how did Elihu answer them ? First, he reproved Job for 
justifying himself more than God. Job had said, " I am righteous, and 
God hath taken away my judgment;" and "it profiteth a man nothing 
that he should delight himself with God." This was accusing God of 

19 



290 



THE STORY OF JOB. 



injustice; it was saying that God had acted wrongly in afflicting a righteous 
man. But Elihu said, " Far be it from God that he should do wickedness, 
and from the Almighty that he should commit iniquity ; for the work of a 
man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to 

his ways." Yes ; 
— God is perfectly 
holy, and perfectly 
wise ; and therefore 
he will not, he can- 
not, do anything 
wrong or unjust; 
God can never err, 
never be mistaken. 
God often, 
indeed, acts in a 
way which we can- 
not understand ; he 
often does things 
which perplex us, 
and which seem to 
us to be for evil 
and not for good. 
But this is because 
we are ignorant ; 
because we see only 
a little part of 
God's doings ; be- 
cause we do not 
know, as he does, 
all the past, and 
all the future ; nor 

THE HAPPY DAYS OF JOB. , , -, r 

J see the end irom 

the beginning, as he can. Then, whenever we feel doubtful, and per- 
plexed, and inclined to murmur, like Job, at what God does, let us 
remember what Elihu said — " God is greater than man ; why dost thou 
strive against him ? for he giveth not account of any of his matters ;" 
and if we feel this, then we shall be willing to trust to his power and 




THE STORY OF JOB. 291 

goodness, and say, as Abraham did, " Shall not the judge of all the 
earth do right ? " 

Klihu reminded Job of many things, which might teach him how 
much greater God was than he. He spoke of the eternity of God. He 
said, " God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his 
years be searched out." How can we understand all the greatness of God T 
when we are ourselves poor, weak creatures, made of dust, and " crushed 
before the moth?" 

And then Blihu spoke of the works of God. He reminded Job of 
the light, and the thunder, and the clouds, and the rain ; and of the 
wonderful way in which God orders all these things, too wonderful for Job 
to understand, for " he doeth great things which we cannot compre- 
hend ;" and therefore Job was to " stand still, and consider the wondrous 
works of God." 

And now the Lord himself answered Job, and spoke to him out of 
the whirlwind; and bade him reply to him, if he could. He said, "I will 
demand of thee, and answer thou me." And then the Lord asked Job, if 
he could tell how the earth was made, and if he understood the motion of 
the stars, or was able to rule the sea, and the light, and the darkness. 
And God spoke to him of some of the animals which he had created, and 
of the wonderful instinct which he had given them ; he reminded Job of the 
goats, and the wild ass, and the peacock, and the ostrich, and the horse. 

Job had seen all these animals ; perhaps he knew much of their 
habits, and their histories ; and he might have known, too, much of the 
other works of God. But Job could not make one of these things, nor even 
understand how they were made. He could only notice them, and admire 
them, and wonder at them ; and that was all. And if Job could not under- 
stand the works of God, how could he understand God himself? and then 
how could he dare to contend with him, or to murmur at anything he did ? 
Job felt all this. 

He felt humbled and ashamed ; and therefore, instead of again trying 
to justify himself, he said, " Behold I am vile, what shall I answer thee ? 
I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will not 
answer; yea, twice, but I will proceed no further." 

And now Job became rich again in this world's wealth, for " the 
Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before." " Then came there unto 
him, all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his 



292 THE STORY OF JOB. 

acquaintance before, and did eat bread with, him in his house, and they 
bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had 
brought upon him : every man also gave him a piece of money, and every 
one an earring of gold. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more 
than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand 
camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. He had 
also seven sons and three daughters. And lie called the name of the first 
Jemima ; and the name of the second, Kezia ; and the name of the third, 
Keren-happuch. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the 
daughters of Job ; and their father gave them an inheritance among their 
brethren ;" and so divided a portion of his property among them, as he did 
among his sons. 

"After this lived Job an hundred and. forty years, and saw his sons, 
and his sons' sons, even four generations ;" so that he is supposed to have 
lived about two hundred years. His great age is one reason which guides 
us to the time in which he lived, as, after the days of Moses, we read 
of none living to so lengthened a period. " So Job died, being old and 
full of days." 

And when we behold the wonderful works of God, we should, like 
Job, feel our own weakness and sinfulness ; and how thankful we should 
be, that this great Creator is our merciful Father too; "that God is love;" 
and that he has shown his love by giving " his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life ! " 

We are also taught that it is God who can make us rich or poor, 
and so we ought to be contented with what he sends us. When he thought 
it right to make Job poor, how soon he lost his all ; and when he thought 
it right to make him rich again, how soon he recovered his wealth. God 
can do everything ; let us trust in him, love and serve him, and then we 
are sure that he will do everything that is best for us, and bring us at 
last to heaven, where " God shall wipe away all tears from off all faces ;" 
that is, where, what trouble soever may happen to us here, we shall not 
have any cause to weep any more. 




VTSTT OF THE WISE MEN 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 

ON the hill where Bethlehem stands there are green places where 
shepherds feed their flocks. There are wild animals in the coun- 
try of Palestine. There used to be even more wild beasts there 
than there are now, jackals and foxes, lions and bears, hyenas, leopards, 
and wolves. But still all night long the shepherds of Bethlehem stay out 
on the hillside, and watch to see that no harm happens to their sheep. 

One night, while the shepherds were watching, lo! an angel of the 
Lord stood by them, and a bright light shone round about them. And the 
shepherds were afraid; but the angel said, "Fear not: for behold, I bring 
you good tidings (or news) of great joy, which shall be to all people. 
For unto }^ou is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is 
Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the 
babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly 
there were seen with the angel a number of the angels of heaven. And 
they praised God, and said, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth 
peace, good will toward men." 

When the light faded, and the song ended, and the angels had gone 
back into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, "Let us now go even 
unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord 
hath made known unto us." So they left their sheep — I dare say they 
thought that they would be quite safe where the holy angels of God 
had been; and they climbed quickly over the hillside towards the little 
town of Bethlehem. And there, in a stable near the inn, the shepherds 
found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. It was just 
as the angels had said. 

The shepherds could not keep the good news to themselves. They 
told it to every one they saw, and everybody wondered. And as they 
went along the hillside back to their sheep again, they felt so full of joy 
about all they had seen and heard that they went on their way thanking 
and praising God. 

Jesus was the eldest son of his mother. And the eldest sons in 
Jewish houses belonged especially to God. When they were forty days 
old they were taken to the Temple, and given to God. And then the 
father gave a priest of the Temple some money — about four dollars — and 

293 



294 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 



the priest blessed the little child in the name of the Lord, and gave it 
back to its father: and after that the father and mother took the baby 
home with them again. 




THE HOLY FAMILY. 

So, now, when Jesus was nearly six weeks old, he was brought from 
Bethlehem by Mary and Joseph to the Temple at Jerusalem. I do not know 
how they came all that long journey of six miles, but very likely Mary 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 295 

rode on an ox. That was what mothers general^ did when they came to 
the Temple to thank God for giving them a new little baby. The moth- 
ers nsed to take a lamb with them, or two pigeons, as a sacrifice to God. 
Mar}^ took two pigeons. She was not rich enough to buy a lamb. 

Just at the time that Joseph and Mary and Jesus were on their way 
to the Temple, God put it into the heart of some one else, called Simeon, 
to go there. Simeon was a good old man who lived in Jerusalem. He was 
one of those who were longing for the Messiah to come to make every one 
happ}? - and good, the Jews and the Gentiles too, and God had promised 
him that before he died his eyes should see the Messiah. Directly Mary 
and Joseph brought the Child Jesus into the Court of the Women, Simeon 
knew that this was the Messiah God had promised to send, and he took 
him up in his arms, and thanked God; and he blessed Joseph and Mary, 

Just as Simeon was speaking, a good woman, called Anna, came 
into the Court of the Women. Anna was very old, about eighty-four. 
She lived in the Temple always, and prayed to God a great deal in the 
night as well as in the day. You may imagine how happy she, too, felt 
when she saw Jesus Christ. She did exactly as the shepherds had done; 
she thanked God, and she told the good news to others in Jerusalem. 
That is just what we must do when we know about Jesus, and love him. 
We must thank God for sending him to die for us, and we must tell 
other people also about him. After that happy day in the Temple, Joseph 
and Mary went back with the Child Jesus for a little while to Bethlehem. 

On the right hand, or eastern side of Palestine, there were some 
countries where the people used to watch the sun and the moon and the 
stars very carefully. If they saw anything new and strange in the heav- 
ens, they thought a great deal about it. They always thought that it 
meant that something wonderful was going to happen. Some of those 
people in the Hast thought more about the sun and the moon and the 
stars than they did about the God who created the heavens. But some of 
them had learned better. They had learned from the Jews about God, and 
about the Messiah who was coming; and they, like the Jews, were longing 
for the Messiah. 

One day, as these wise and good men were watching the sky, they 
saw a bright star which they had never noticed before. And as they 
looked at it they felt sure that a very great King of the Jews had been 
born in Judaea. As soon as God whispered that secret into their hearts, 




CHRISTMAS — THE SHEPHERDS AND THE MANGER. 



296 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 29f 

they took camels and rich presents of gold and sweet-smelling stuff — such 
as people gave to kings in those days — and they loaded their camels, and 
left their homes, and travelled for man}- weeks till they came to Jerusalem. 
And when they got there they said, " Where is he that is born King of the 
Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." 

When Herod heard about these wise men he was troubled. I told 
you that he had killed two of his own sons because he was afraid they 
might want to be king instead of him; so no wonder he was frightened 
when he heard that the Messiah, the great King of the Jews, was born. 
And Herod's friends were troubled too when the wise men came. And the 
rest of the people in Jerusalem were troubled. They knew how wicked 
Herod was, and they thought, "Now Herod will do something cruel to 
punish us, just because he has been frightened." 

But Herod was very cunning. He sent for the most clever priests t 
and for other clever men, and he asked them to tell him where Christ 
would be born. And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judsea." They 
had read that in the Bible. If Herod had read the Bible, he would have 
known that himself. Then Herod sent very quietly for the wise men from 
the East, and he asked them a great many questions about when they 
first saw the star. And then he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go 
and search out carefully about the young Child, and when ye have found 
him bring me word, that I also may come and worship him." 

Did Herod want to go and bow down his head before the Child 
Jesus, and call him his King, and bring him presents ? Ah ! Herod, we 
know better now. But the wise men believed him just then. When they 
had heard the king, they went away to Bethlehem, as he told them ; and 
lo, the star which they saw in the Hast went before them, till it came and 
stood over where the young Child was. And when the wise men saw the 
star standing still, they rejoiced with great joy. They knew that they 
had now found the One whom they had come so far to seek. 

And when they were come into the house (I suppose there was 
room in the inn now) they saw the young Child with Mary, his mother, 
and they fell down and worshipped him, and they gave him their presents 
— gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 

But the wise men did not go back to Herod, to tell him that they 
had found Jesus. God came to them one night when they were asleep, 
and tcld them in a dream not to go, So they went home to their own. 



298 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 



country by another way instead. Why did not God lee them go back to 
Herod ? Ah ! you will see. 

After the wise men were gone back to their own country, the, angel 
of the Lord came to Joseph in his sleep, and said to him, " Arise, and 
take the young Child and his mother, and nee into Egypt, and be thou 
there until I bring thee word, for Herod will seek the young Child to 




THE CHILD JESUS IN EGYPT. 

destroy him." That meant to kill him. So Joseph at once got up, and took 
the young Child and his mother by night, and went away into Egypt. 

When Herod found that the wise men did not come back to him, 
he was very angry indeed, and he sent his soldiers to Bethlehem, and had 
all the baby boys killed — all the children who were less than two years of 
age. And they killed all the baby boys in the places near Bethlehem as 
well. And the poor mothers cried, and nobody could comfort them. 

But Jesus was out of Herod's way by that time. Herod had nothing 
to do with Egypt, because Egypt did not belong to the Romans. So Jesus 
was perfectly safe there. The king of Egypt who was living just then was 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 299 

so kind to the Jews that a very great number of them had gone to live in 
his country. So Joseph and Mary would be sure to find plenty of friends 
there, and plent}^ of work to do. 

Joseph and Mary stayed on quietly in Egypt, waiting for the angel 
to bring them word that it was time to go back again to Palestine. And 
one night, I think it was when Jesus was about three years old, the mes- 
sage came which the}r were expecting. The angel of the Lord came to 
Joseph in a dream, and said to him, " Arise, and take the young Child 
and his mother, and go into the land of Israel : for they are dead which 
sought the young Child's life." 

Directly God spoke Joseph obeyed. It was always so with Joseph. 
He got up, and he took the young Child and his mother, and went into 
the land of Israel. But when he came there people said to him, " Herod 
is dead, but his son Archelaus is king." And when Joseph knew that 
Archelaus was king, he was afraid to stay in Judsea. And God spoke to 
him again in a dream, and told him to go back to Galilee, the part of 
Palestine where he lived before Jesus was born. So Joseph and Mary went 
back to Galilee, and lived in their own city of Nazareth again. 

The Bible does not tell us much about the time when Jesus was a 
little boy, but it does give us a few stories. And a great many persons 
have been to Palestine, and have told us about Nazareth. Nazareth is a 
little town which is built up the side of a hill. Other hills stand round 
it — and there are plenty of gardens and fields down below. Amongst these 
fields and gardens there is a fountain, where the women of Nazareth go 
to fetch water. Jesus must often have gone with his mother to that foun- 
tain ; and I dare say that sometimes, when she was tired, he may have 
fetched the water for her himself. 

Most likely Mary wore a long blue dress, tied round the waist, and 
a cap with pieces of money sewn around it, and a white cloth over her 
head and shoulders, just as the women of Nazareth do now; and Jesus was 
very likely dressed in a red cap, a bright tunic, a sash of many colours, 
and a little loose jacket of white or blue, just as the boys of Nazareth are 
dressed now. People do not alter their way of dressing in that country as 
we do in England. 

We know that in the spring-time, wherever the Child Jesus went 
round about Nazareth, he saw flowers and brightness. The hills and the 
fields near there are lovely in spring with daisies, crocuses, poppies, tulips, 



300 THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 

lilies, and convolvulus, with marigolds and mignonette, and many other 
flowers. Great butterflies and many-coloured birds fly about, little owls 
with great eyes make a mewing noise in the olive trees, and the lark goes 
singing up into the air. The very trees are like nosegays of white and 
scarlet flowers, and are beautiful with their light and their dark green 
leaves. In summer the sun shines down on the flowers of Nazareth, and 
quickly withers them up, but it makes the corn and the oranges ripe, and the 
grapes and the figs too, and many other things that are good to be eaten. 

Would you like to know the kind of house that Jesus lived in when 
he was a child? It would be very much like the houses that people see 
in Nazareth now. The houses of Nazareth are white. Grape vines grow 
over their walls, and doves sit and coo on their flat roofs. There is not 
much inside the houses: sometimes they have only one room. There is a 
lamp in the middle of the room, and round the walls there are waterpots. 
There are bright-coloured quilts there too on a shelf. People unroll these 
quilts at night and lie down upon them. Besides these things, there are 
mats and carpets in the house, and a bright-coloured box with treasures in 
it, and a painted wooden stool ; and that is nearly all. 

When the people of the house want to eat, they put a tray of food 
on the wooden stool, and they sit round the tray on the floor, and eat 
with their hands. That is always the way with people in Palestine; they 
would not know what to do with tables and chairs like ours. 

The streets of Nazareth are long and narrow, and they are full of 
chickens and dogs, of donkeys and camels, of blind beggars and children. 
There are little shops by the side of the streets, but the tailors, the shoe- 
makers, the carpenters, and the coffee-grinders do not always sit in their 
shops. They like to sit on the ground outside, and do their work in the 
street, and the sellers of dates and of figs, beans, barley, oranges and 
other things sit down in the street to sell their goods. Joseph, Mary's 
husband, was a carpenter, and Jesus became a carpenter; and often, I 
dare say, they would come out of their little shop, and sit on the ground 
with plane, hammer, glue and saw, and work away in the narrow street, 
just as the carpenters of Nazareth do now. 

There used to be in Nazareth a synagogue, a sort of church where 
the Jews went twice every day to pray and to hear the Bible read. We 
know that Jesus often went there. Most likely too he went to school, just 
as our American boys do now, for the Jews used to be very particular 




CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE) — DISPUTING WITH THE DOCTORS 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 301 

about their children being taught. What do you think they liked them 
to learn first of all? The Bible. They began to teach the little children 
the Bible and the synagogue prayers as soon as they could speak ; and 
they thought that the little children ought to be able to read the Bible 
when they were five years of age. 

The Jews called the Bible the Law. Their Bible was the same as 
our Old Testament. Ours tells all about the life of Jesus Christ, and 
theirs could not do that. And their Bible was not printed and bound like 
ours, Avith pages to turn over. It was written out by hand, and was rolled 
and unrolled instead of being opened and shut. 

When the Jewish boys were twelve years old, they were called 
" Sons of the Law," and they were allowed to go to Jerusalem for the 
Passover. I cannot stop just now to tell you exactly what the Passover 
was like, and why the Jews had it. But it was a very grand time of 
offering sacrifices to God, and it lasted a week. All of the Jews who could 
possibly manage to go, went up to the Passover. Such a number went 
that there was no room for them inside Jerusalem, and they had to put 
up tents, or build themselves little arbors, on the hills outside the city. 

When Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph and his mother took him 
up with them to the Passover. That must have been a wonderful journey 
for him. How pleased he must have been to see the great marble and 
gold Temple ! 

When the week was over, Mary and Joseph started for the journey 
back to Nazareth. But Jesus stayed behind them in Jerusalem. Thousands 
of people must have been leaving Jerusalem just at the very time that 
Mary and Joseph went away. Fancy what a confusion there would be ! 
When Mary and Joseph did not see Jesus in the crush they did not at 
first feel frightened. They thought, "We shall find him soon with some 
of our relatives and friends." But no. All day long they kept on 
looking for him in the crowd, but they did not see him. And as the 
crowd grew less and less — when some of the donkeys and camels and people 
went one way, and some another — and_ still they did not see their Child, they 
grew frightened, and the}^ went back again to Jerusalem, looking for him. 

Next day they found him. Can you guess where he was ? He was 
in one of the courts of the Temple. The Rabbis of Jerusalem had their 
schools in the courts of the Temple. There was a verandah on the inside 
of the walls round the Court of the Gentiles, and I suppose they used to 



302 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 



sit there. The Rabbi had a high seat, and his scholars sat on the ground 
before him. Jesus was sitting in one of those schools. He was listening 
and asking questions. Several Rabbis were there, and every one who saw 
and heard him was astonished. They asked him questions too, and he 
answered them wisely and well. Nobody could understand how a young 
boy could be so wise. 

When Mary and Joseph saw Jesus sitting here, with Rabbis coming 
all around him, they were greatly surprised. But his mother asked him 




NAZARETH. 

why he had stayed behind, and said, " Thy father and I have sought thee 
sorrowing." Mary called Joseph the " father " of Jesus because he had 
taken care of Jesus, as your father takes care of you. Jesus used to behave 
to him exactly as if he were his father. But the Holy Spirit had taught 
Jesus that he was the Son of God as well, and that he had God's work to 
do in the world, and he said to his mother, " How is it that ye have 
sought me? Wist ye not (did you not know) that I must be about my 
Father's business ? " They did not understand that he was speaking about 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 303 

his Heavenly Father. But Mary remembered what Jesus had said, and 
thought about it aftenvards. 

And now he went back with her and with Joseph to Nazareth, and 
obeyed them, exactly as he always had done. We do not know much 
more about Jesus when he was a boy, any more than we do about John. 
But we do know that he was always growing stronger and wiser, because 
he was full of the Holy Spirit of God. And we know that as he grew 
taller — from a boy into a man — he " increased in wisdom and stature, and 
in favor with God and man." 

The great Roman Emperor Augustus was dead, and now there was 
a very wicked emperor in Rome called Tiberius. There was no cruel King 
Herod in Jerusalem now, but there was another bad man, called Pontius 
Pilate, whom the Jews had to obey, who was more cruel still. Pontius 
Pilate took the Jews' money, and sold their fields, and put them into prison, 
and killed them too, if he chose, when they had done nothing at all to 
deserve it ! And the Jews were more wretched than ever. They longed 
more than ever for the Messiah. The Rabbis, who were wise teachers, 
and the priests could not comfort them. The Rabbis were dreadfully 
proud, and many of the priests did not really love God. So how could 
they help other people ? 

Some of the Jews really longed to please God. The Rabbis told 
them to wash their bodies, but they wanted to have clean hearts, and the 
Rabbis could not tell them how to manage that. So many of them thought, 
"We will go away into the wilderness, (that meant, to the country places 
outside the towns). We will leave the cruel Romans, and the proud 
Rabbis, and all the priests too, behind ; and we will wash often, and pray 
often, and think about God a great deal ; and we will try hard to make 
ourselves holy." And numbers of the Jews did go away to the hills and 
caves of Judaea, and they lived long and quietly there, instead of living in 
the towns. I will tell you about one of the Jews who did that. 

You remember about the baby God sent to Zacharias and Elizabeth 
— the child that was called John. Zacharias and Elizabeth gave John to 
God directly he was born. They never cut his hair, and they never let 
him drink wine, or eat grapes, or eat raisins. That was to show that he 
belonged to God. That was the way people did in those days. 

And when John was old enough to understand, he gave himself to 
God. And as he grew still older, he made up his mind that he would. 



504 THE BABE OF BETHEEHEM. 

leave liis home and his friends, and go away and live in a wilderness, as 
those other Jews had done. So he dressed himself in the poor dress that 
the Arabs — the children of Ishmael — wear, and went into the wilderness *, 
and his food there was locusts and wild honey. 

Locusts are something like large grasshoppers, and poor people in 
the East often eat them. They taste something like shrimps, but are not 
so nice. There are always a great many locusts in the wilderness of 
Judaea, with wings of many different colors — scarlet, crimson, blue, yellow, 
white, green, or brown wings. There are wild bees in the wilderness of 
Judaea too, which fly about, and collect honey, and put the honey in the 
holes of the rocks. So John was always able to find his food close at hand. 

And here, in the wilderness, John stayed alone and prayed. We do 
not know what he said, but I am sure that he asked God to take away 
his sins, and to take away the sins of the other Jews, and to let the 
Messiah come soon. 

God had said that John should go before the Messiah to prepare 
the way for him — to get people's hearts ready for the Saviour. Well, 
when John was in the wilderness, God told him to begin the work he had 
to do. So John went down from the wild hills of Judsea to the River 
Jordan, which was running deep down below; and he began to preach to 
every one who passed by. There were many people passing by, for that 
was where people crossed the Jordan to get into Palestine. 

John did not tell the Jews just how they were to sit, and to stand, 
and to move, and to walk, as the Rabbis used to do. No. He said, 
"Repent!" (that means, "Be really sorry for your sins",) "for the 
kingdom of heaven is at hand." A very great many people went from 
Jerusalem, and out of all the land of Judsea, on purpose to hear John 
preaching. And when they had heard him, some of them said to him, 
" What shall we do then ? " And John told them that they were to be 
kind to one another — they were to give food to the hungry and clothing 
to the naked. 

Some of the people listening to John had to collect money for 
Pontius Pilate to send to Rome; they were called publicans. The publi- 
cans said, "Master, what shall we do?" And John told them that they 
must collect money honestly and fairly. Some Roman soldiers came too. 
The Roman soldiers used to be allowed to knock the Jews about as much 
as they liked, and the Jews were not allowed to complain. Those soldiers 



JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK. 305 

said to John: "And what shall we do?" And John told them not to be 
rough, and not to tell lies and get people punished for nothing ; and he 
told them to be contented with their wages. To be contented means to be 
pleased with what we have got, and not to tease for anything more. 

Some even of the proud Rabbis came down to the Jordan to John, 
and John told these Rabbis that thejr must not be proud because they were 
Jews, but must try to be good really and truly. A great many of the 
people who listened to John felt sorry for the things they had done, and 
they told John how sorry they were, and Jobn baptized them in the river 
Jordan. Did John think that he could wash away the sins of the people 
by baptizing them ? Oh no ! He told the people that he could only baptize 
their bodies with water, but that some one else was coming who would be 
able to baptize their hearts with the Holy Spirit. Whom did John mean? 
It was Jesus. 

JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK. 

AFTBR John had baptized a great many persons, he saw, one day, 
somebody quite new coming to him for baptism. That somebody 
was a man about thirty years old, and when John looked at him 
he could see in a minute that he was quite different from the rough 
soldiers, the cheating publicans, the proud Rabbis, and all the rest of the 
people who had been to him before. Yes, love and truth and goodness of 
every kind shone out on that man's face, and John, the holy John, felt, by 
his side, that he was only a sinner, and he said to him : " I have need to 
be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me ? " 

Can you guess who that holy man was ? It was Jesus. Jesus had 
come to be baptized before he began his work as the Messiah for two 
reasons. He wanted to obey God in everything; and he wanted to show 
that he was the brother and friend of all the people whom John had been 
baptizing. And so, as Jesus wished it, John went into the river Jordan 
with him and baptized him. Jesus was praying all the time to his 
Heavenly Father, and when he came out of the river, John saw the 
heavens open, <md the Holy Spirit of God, like a dove, coming down on 
Jesus. And lo! a voice was heard from heaven which said: "This is my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 

When Jesus had been baptized, and was full of the Holy Spirit, he 
20 




306 



JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK. 307 

did not go straight back to his mother and to his home in Nazareth. No. 
He went away into a wilderness. I dare say he wanted, like John, to 
think abont all the work he would soon have to do, and to be alone for a 
little while with his Heavenly Father. Ah ! and Jesus would have some- 
thing else too to do in that wilderness. He would have to fight with 
Satan. God had promised Adam and Bve that Jesus would do that, and 
the Holy Spirit whispered in Jesus Christ's heart that the time for a great 
battle with Satan had come. 

We do not know exactly where it was that Jesus went. It must 
have been a very lonely place, for there were wild beasts there, and we 
know that wild beasts generally live as far as they can from houses and 
men. Perhaps he went to a wilderness near Jericho, which is full of 
yellow and white rocks and great caves, — a wilderness where no grass 
grows and where no trees are to be seen. 

For a great many days after Jesus went into .the wilderness, he did 
not think about eating. His mind was quite full of other thoughts. But 
at last, at the end of forty days, he felt hungry. And then when he 
looked round, there was nothing to eat. All around him, on the ground, 
there were stones, great stones ; but there was nothing else at all. 

And now, when Jesus was tired and hungry, and weak for want of 
food, Satan came to him in the lonely wilderness— just the same as He 
came to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Hden — on purpose to tempt him. 
Perhaps he had come to Jesus many times before in those forty days. I 
am not sure about that. But at all events he came now. 

To tempt means to try. Mother tries you sometimes, to see whether 
you can be trusted, and God tries us sometimes. But if God tries us it is 
to make us better, and if Satan tries us, it is to make us worse. 

When Satan came to the happy garden, how did he tempt Bve? 
He tried to make her take some food which God did not mean her to 
have. He often tempts little children like that. And that was just the 
way he tempted Jesus now. He knew that Jesus was hungry, and so he 
said : " If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." 

Satan must have known that Jesus was the Son of God, as well as 
being man. He need not have said " If." Yes, and the Son of God could 
easily have turned stones into bread. Doing a wonderful thing like that 
is called working a miracle, and Jesus often afterwards worked a miracle 
when he wanted to do good to other people. But he would not work a 



308 JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK. 

miracle for himself. He knew quite well that his Heavenly Father would 
give him food when the right time came, and he was willing to wait. 

When the devil found that it was of no use to tempt Jesus as a 
man through his hungry body, he tried another plan. He knew that the 
Jews hated the Romans and wanted a king of their own, and he knew 
that Christ was a Jew, so he thought he would tempt him as a Jew, and 
this was what he did. He took Jesus to the top of a very high hill, and 
he showed him all the countries that belonged to the Romans. And then 
he said that if he would fall down at his feet, and pray to him, he would 
give him all those countries. 

Ah ! but they were not Satan's to give. Besides, Jesus had not 
come into the world to fight with the Romans, and to make himself King 
of Jerusalem. He had come to fight with Satan, and to become King of 
people's hearts. And besides that, nothing would ever have made him 
pray to Satan. So that temptation was of no use at all. 

Satan tried one other plan. He took Jesus to the top of the won- 
derful marble Temple in Jerusalem, and then told him to throw himself 
down. He said that if Jesus were the Son of God, the angels would take 
care of him, and would not let him get hurt. But Jesus would not think 
of doing such a thing as that, not even to make people see and believe 
that he was the Son of God. We must never do foolish and dangerous 
things, and say, " Oh ! God will take care of me." That sort of faith does 
not please God. 

Jesus had now been tempted in three ways : (i) as a man — 3t 
hungry man; (2) as a Jew; (3) as the Son of God. But it was all of no 
use. Satan had to go away at last, quite disappointed. He could not 
possibly make Jesus do anything wrong. And now God's angels came to 
bring Jesus food and everything that he wanted. It was well worth while 
to have waited, and to have been hungry for just a little time longer, and 
then to be fed by angels instead of being fed by the devil. 

Jesus is sometimes called the second Adam, but the first Adam did 
what Satan told him, though he had everything he wanted, and had no 
excuse, and the second Adam did not. Bvery time that Jesus was tempted 
he said, " It is written," and then he told Satan something which was 
written in the Bible, something that his Heavenly Father had said. That 
is the very best way to fight Satan. The Bible is called " the Sword of 
the Spirit," and Satan is frightened when he sees us using that Sword. 




CHRIST AND HIvS MOTHER RETURNING FROM JERUSALEM 




CHRIST RAISING THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAIN 



JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK. 309 

Let us ask God to fill us, like Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, aud then we 
shall soon learn how to use the Sword of the Spirit, and we too shall be 
able to drive Satan away when he conies to tempt us. Only we must be 
sure to read the Bible, as Jesus used to do, or else we shall never be able 
to drive Satan away by telling him the things that God has written there. 

John did not always go on baptizing in the same place. I dare say, 
for one thing, he was afraid that the Jews in Jerusalem would come to 
stop him. They did one day send some priests to find out whether he 
was the Messiah, and to ask him what business he had to baptize the 
people. And John wanted to prepare everybody for the coming of Jesus. 
So when he had preached long enough to the people of Judsea, he went 
a long way up the river Jordan till he got to two places near Galilee 
called ^Enon and Bethabara. And he preached and baptized at those 
places, and the people of Galilee came to hear him and to be baptized, 
just as the people of Judsea had done. 

One day, when Jesus Christ's fight with the devil in the wilderness 
was over, he came to Bethabara, where John was baptizing, and when John 
saw Jesus coming towards him, he said : 

" Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.' 1 '' 
The next day John saw Jesus again, and again he said the same words : 
" Behold the Lamb of God." 

John called Jesus the Lamb of God because he was going to die as 
a sacrifice for our sins. Ever since the time of Adam and Kve lambs had 
been killed from time to time, to remind people that Jesus would one day 
come to die for them. And now Jesus had come. So the Lamb of God 
was a beautiful name for John to give him. 

Two men were standing close to John when Jesus came by, and 
they heard what he said. The name of one of these men was Andrew, 
and I think that the name of the other was John. Those men were called 
John's disciples, because John had taught them many things. He had told 
them a great deal about Jesus, and now that they really saw Jesus you 
may imagine how delighted they felt ! They could not let him go out of 
their sight. So they left John the Baptist and walked after Jesus as 
closely as they dared. Jesus knew that those two men would like to 
speak to him, so presently he turned round and asked them what they 
wanted. " Master," they said, " where dwellest thou ? " (that means, " where 
are you living?") So Jesus invited them to come with him, and see. 



310 JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK. 

Jesus did not really live at Bethabara. His home was at Nazareth, 
you know. Most likely when he came to Bethabara he made himself a little 
hut out of branches of trees — just big enough to eat in and sleep in. And 
now he took the two disciples to his Bethabara home, and he let them stay 
with him the whole of the day. Oh ! what a happy day that must have been ! 

But Andrew was not selfish. He had a brother called Simon, and 
he wanted him to be happy too. So he went to find Simon, and he told 
him that he had found the Messiah, and then he brought him to see his 
new Master and Friend. So now Jesus had three disciples — John, Andrew, 
and Simon ; and next day he took them away with him from Betha- 
bara to Galilee. 

Just as they were starting, or while they were going along, Jesus 
saw a man called Philip, who came from the very place where Simon and 
Andrew lived when they were at home. I dare say he was a friend of 
those brothers. Jesus told Philip to come with him, and he came. But 
Philip did something else too — something that Andrew did. He went to a 
friend of his, a very good man called Nathanael, and he told him that he 
had found Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, and begged him to come and 
see him. How many disciples had Jesus now? Let us see. John, Andrew, 
Simon, Philip, and Nathanael — five. And I think that, very likely, John 
had brought his brother James to Jesus. If so, that would make six. 

Directly Jesus came into Galilee he was invited to come to a wedding 
party, at a place called Cana, and all of his disciples were asked to come 
with him. We should not like to ask such a number of persons all at 
once in our country, but the people of the Bast are very kind about 
giving invitations. And Jesus went to the wedding because he likes to see 
people happy, and loves to make them happy. 

People often drink more wine at weddings and at other times than 
is good for them, and a great many people go without any wine at all, so 
as to set them a good example. That is a very kind and good plan. But 
in the East it is different. The people there hardly ever take too much 
wine. So Jesus allowed his disciples to use it, and he drank it himself. 

There was some wine at the wedding party to which Jesus went ; 
but presently it came to an end. I do not know how that happened. 
Perhaps a great number of persons were invited to the wedding just at 
the last, on purpose to see Jesus, and they helped to drink it all up. Any 
way the wine was all gone. 



JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK. 311 

But it was very awkward for the people who gave the feast to have 
no wine left, and Mary thought to herself, " If I ask my Son, he will make 
some more wine." Then Mary came to Jesus, and said, " They have no 
wine." Jesus knew what Mar}^ was thinking about, but he had to tell her 
to wait ; and he had to make Mary understand that he could not do every- 
thing now which she told him to do, exactly as when he was a boy. He 
was God's Son as well as Mary's and he had God's work to do, and he 
must do it at God's time. 

But Mary felt sure that Jesus was going to do something kind, and 
when she went back, she told the servants to do whatever he told them, 
And Jesus did not keep Mary and the servants waiting long. Close to 
the house there were six great stone jars or waterpots. Those waterpots 
were not very full just then. All the visitors had had to wash before 
dinner, and they had used up a great deal of the water. But now Jesus 
said to the servants, " Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled 
them up to the brim. And lo ! when the water was taken out of the jars, 
it was water no longer, but wine. 

This was the very first miracle that Jesus did, and he did it to make 
people happy, and to make them believe that he was the Son of God. 
Dear children, Jesus wants you to be happy. And the very best way to 
be happy is to ask Jesus to go with you everywhere and always, just as 
those wedding people asked him to come to their party. 

When the wedding party was over, Jesus and his disciples went 
away from Cana to a town called Capernaum. The mother of Jesus went 
to Capernaum with him, and some of his other relatives went too. Caper- 
naum was about thirteen miles from Cana. It was close to a lake called 
the Sea of Galilee. Do you know what a lake is ? It is a piece of water 
with lend all round it. 

Jesus did not stay veiy many days in Capernaum. The lovely 
spring flowers told him that the Passover time was coming, so he went 
up, with his disciples, to Jerusalem. On the map it looks as if Jesus went 
down to Jerusalem from Capernaum. But Judaea is hilly, you remember, 
and Jerusalem is built on hills. That is why we say he went up. 

When Jesus had come to Jerusalem you may be sure that his 
disciples and he soon went to the Temple. But what do you think they 
saw when they got inside the great Court of the Gentiles ? A regular 
market was going on there. Men were selling oxen and sheep and doves 



SI 2 



JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK. 



for sacrifice. Others were sitting at little tables changing money. And 
there must have been plenty of noise, for people in the East shout and quar- 
rel a great deal when they are buying or selling, or doing other business. 
Some of the people who had come up to Jerusalem for the Passover 
had travelled from countries far away. Their money was not like the 
Jerusalem money, so they really wanted it changed. And the priests 
would only take one particular kind of money, so even the Jerusalem Jews 
had to go to the money-changers. But the sellers and money-changers had 




A STREET SCENE IN JERUSALEM. 

no business in the Courts of the Temple. How came they to be there? 
Ah ! they gave the priests money ; and the priests loved money more than 
they loved God. So they let the market go on. 

When Jesus saw what was being done, he was angry ; and he made 
a whip with pieces of cord, and he drove away all the people who were 
selling in the Temple. And he turned out the sheep and the oxen ; and 
he told the men who sold doves to take them away, and not turn his 
Father's house into a shop. Jesus upset the tables of the money-changers 



JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK. 313 

too, and poured out their money. Those money-changers got a great deal 
of their money by being unfair to other people. Perhaps that was one 
reason why Jesus poured their gold and their silver away. 

We feel shocked about those money-changers and sellers of animals. 
But I am afraid that often we are very much like them. We do not take 
oxen and sheep and doves into God's house. But often we take silly 
thoughts and idle thoughts and wrong thoughts with us. And we do not 
change money, and do other things like that when we go into God's house. 
But often when we are kneeling down, in church or at home, we begin to 
think about our work and our play. People who come in suppose we are 
praying ; but Jesus sees into our hearts, and he whispers : " Send those 
thoughts away. Do not make my Father's house a place of business." 

Jesus did a great many wonderful things when he was in Jerusalem 
that Passover time, and many persons saw his miracles, and thought, 
"Yes, this is the Messiah." But Jesus did not trust any of those people. 
He knew that they did not really love him. 

But there was one man in Jerusalem who did want to be Jesus 
Christ's disciple. His name was Nicodemus. He was a great Rabbi, but 
not proud like the other Rabbis, and he wanted to ask Jesus a great many 
questions. The other Rabbis and the priests did not like Jesus at all, 
because he did not teach the people the same things that they did. And 
Nicodemus was quite frightened, lest those other Rabbis and the priests 
should see him coming to Jesus. So he came to Jesus by night — in the dark. 

What did Jesus say when he saw Nicodemus ? Did he say, " You are 
not brave, Nicodemus ; I am ashamed of you; go away?" Ah no! He talked 
kindly to him, and he told him that he would have to be born again. He meant 
that Nicodemus must ask God to send him his Holy Spirit, and to give him 
a new heart. And then Jesus explained to Nicodemus why he had come down 
from heaven. He said: " God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten 
Son, that whosoever believe th in him should not perish, but have everlasting UfeP 

I wonder whether you can say those beautiful words. If not, I do 
hope that some day you will learn them. Nicodemus never forgot the 
things Jesus taught him that night. And soon the Holy Spirit came into 
his heart and made it clean and new. And when Nicodemus was born 
again, he grew braver and braver ; and at last he did not care at all what 
the priests and the other Rabbis thought about him. No, indeed, for Nico- 
demus had become a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. 



JESUS IN GALILEE. 

""Y "X T"HILE Jesus and his disciples were in the land of Judaea, bap- 
\ \ tizing and teaching, and making sick people well, something 
very sad happened. Do you remember about Herod the Great, 
who was king of the Jews when Jesus was born ? That wicked King 
Herod had several sons ; and when he died the Holy Land was divided 
into three parts by Augustus Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, and it was 
given to three of Herod's sons. Two of those sons were called Herod, 
like their father. One was called Herod Antipas, and the other was called 
Herod Philip. Galilee and Perea were given to Herod Antipas. 

Herod Antipas ought to have been contented. Galilee was the most 
beautiful part of the Holy Land. But he was not contented ; he was 
selfish ; he wanted all the good things. And he actually stole the wife of 
one of his brothers, and married her himself. 

John the Baptist heard what Herod had done, and he told him that 
it was very wicked indeed. John always told poor people about the things 
they did wrong, and you see he was not afraid to tell rich people — even 
kings — when they had done wrong too. 

Herod ought to have been sorry, but he was not. He was angry; 
and he sent soldiers, who seized John and tied him fast, and carried him 
off to a fortress of Herod's called the Black Castle by the side of the 
Dead Sea. Half of that castle was a palace, and half of it was a prison ; 
and John the Baptist was shut up in the prison. 

When Jesus heard that John was in prison, the Holy Spirit whis- 
pered in his heart that it was time for him to go back to Galilee. People 
were beginning to talk a great deal about the wonderful things he was 
doing, and Jesus knew that if he stayed in Judaea any longer, the Rabbis 
or King Herod would soon try to stop him. So he went. 

If you wanted to go from Judaea to Galilee, the nearest way would 
be through Samaria. But the Jews did not like to go that way. Very 
often they crossed the River Jordan, and went up through Perea, and then 
crossed the river again to get into Galilee. They did that because they 
did not like the Samaritans. 

The Samaritans used once to be heathen. And so, even when they 
began to pray to God, the proud Jews would have nothing to do with 

314 



JESUS IN GALILEE. 315 

them. The Samaritans were very much disappointed about that, but they 
thought, u Never mind, we will have a temple of our own. God will like 
our temple better than the one at Jerusalem." So they built themselves a 
temple at the top of a mountain in Samaria ; but the Jews pulled it down. 
i\nd the Samaritans were angry with the Jews, and did unkind things to 
them, and the Jews did more unkind things to the Samaritans, and so it 
went on. The}- hated one another. The Jews would not even eat the 
Samaritan food if they could help it. 

But Jesus loved them all, both the Jews and the Samaritans. And 
when he had to go to Galilee, he made up his mind to pass through 
Samaria. It was a long, rough journey, between hills, over stones, and up 
long rocky stairs where stinging scorpions are found. But at last they 
came near a town. There was a well near that town called Jacob's Well, 
because Jacob made it when he lived in Shechem. Jesus was too tired to 
go any further, so he threw himself down to rest by the side of that well, 
while his disciples went on to buy food. They did not mind eating 
Samaritan food. Jesus had taught them better. 

It was the middle of the day, so I dare say Jesus was very hot, as 
well as tired and hungry. But he was not too hot and tired and hungry 
to do work for his Heavenly Father. While Jesus was sitting by the well 
a woman came there to draw water. People do not go out much in hot 
countries in the middle of the day, and the women in the Hast generally 
draw water in the morning and in the evening. But this woman was 
wicked, and I think that very likely she came in the middle of the day 
because she was ashamed of herself, and did not want people to look at her. 

But Jesus spoke to that woman directly, although he knew how bad 
she was, and he asked her to do something kind for him; he said, "Give 
me to drink." The woman had a waterpot which she could let down into 
the water, but Jesus had nothing to draw with, and the well was deep ; 
and yet she felt quite surprised that he asked her for water, and she said 
to him, " You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan. Why then do you ask 
me for water ? " 

Jesus said, "If you knew who I am, you would have asked me, and 
I would have given you living water." Jesus meant the Holy Spirit. He 
gives the Holy Spirit to every one who asks him. The Holy Spirit is 
like water — living water, because he makes our hearts clean, and because 
he makes them feel rested and happy. And he is better than water, 



316 



JESUS IN GALILEE. 



because if we drink water we soon get thirsty again ; but the Holy Spirit 
is ready to stay with us as long as we live. . 

Then Jesus spoke to the woman about the bad things she had done, 
and she tried to make him talk about something else directly. But she 
could not stop his wonderful words. At last she said: "I know that the 
Messiah is coming. He will tell us all things." Then Jesus said to her, 
*' I that speak unto thee am he." 

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JESUS AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA. 
much astonished to see him talking to the woman. The Jew men were 
too proud to talk much to women, even if the women were Jews ; and this 
was a Samaritan woman ! And besides, Jesus was a Rabbi, a great teacher; 
and Rabbis did not talk, even to their wives out of doors, where people 
could see them. 

The disciples did not ask Jesus any questions about why he talked 
to the woman. They brought him the things they had been buying, and 
said, "Master, eat." But Jesus was so happy that he had been able to 




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JESUS IN GALILEE. 317 

speak good words to that poor woman that he did not feel hungry any 
more. He told his disciples that doing God's work was the food he liked best. 

But what do you think the woman of Samaria was doing now ? She 
was like Andrew and Philip, the disciples who went to find somebody else 
to bring to Jesus. Directly Jesus had finished talking to her, she ran 
away to fetch her friends. 

She was in such a hurry that she left her waterpot at the well, or 
perhaps she left it there on purpose that all those thirsty disciples might 
be able to draw Avater to drink, and when she got to the town, she said 
to the people there, "Come, see a man who told me all things that ever I 
did. Is not this the Messiah ? " 

So the Samaritans came to Jesus, and begged him to stay with 
them. And he came into the town and stayed with them for two days. 
And a great many of the Samaritans believed on Jesus when they heard 
him, and the}?- said, " This is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." 
"The Christ" means "the Messiah." 

Now we can see why Jesus went back to Galilee through Samaria. 
He wanted the Samaritans to know him and to love him. They might 
never have seen him if he had gone the other way. Is not Jesus loving, 
and thoughtful, and good? 

Jesus was a missionary. The woman of Samaria was a missionary. 
Andrew and Philip were missionaries. I hope, dear children, that all of 
you will be missionaries too. You can all do something or say some 
word for Jesus even now ; and when you grow up, perhaps some of you will 
be able to go to tell the heathen about him. Jesus told his disciples, when 
he was talking to them at the well, that missionary work is like sowing 
seed. Will you not then begin at once to be little sowers of good seed 
for Jesus ? 

When Jesus had finished his little visit to the people of Samaria, 
he came into Galilee. We do not quite know where he went first, but I 
think most likely he went to the place where his mother lived — Nazareth. 
Nazareth was his own city, where he had lived when he was a little boy, 
and where he had worked when he was a young man. How pleased his 
mother must have been to see him again after he had been so long in Judaea ! 

Galilee is only a very small country, but when Jesus lived there it 
was very full of people. It had hundreds of villages and towns. The 
people who lived in Galilee were in the dark before Jesus came. The sua 



318 JESUS IN GAUIvEE. 

shone brightly on their houses every day, bnt their hearts were quite dark. 
They did not know what to believe, and many of them were ill and 
unhappy. But " The Light of the world is Jesus." And Jesus never tired 
of going into those cities and villages to preach to the men and women 
there, and to bless the little children, and to heal the sick. 

In the Bast there is a dreadful illness called leprosy, and the people 
who have it are called lepers. No doctor can cure it. It begins with spots 
on the eyelids and on the inside of the hands, and then it spreads all 
about the body, and makes swellings and sore places. At last the body 
gets so full of leprosy that the poor leper dies. 

At the time when Jesus lived on the earth lepers were not allowed 
to come into cities. And they had to go about with nothing on their 
heads, and with their dresses torn, and with their mouths covered over ; 
and when they saw anybody coming they had to call out, " Unclean ! 
unclean !" That meant, " Don't come near me, I am a leper." Nobody 
was allowed to touch a leper. 

One day when Jesus went into a town a leper saw him. The poor 
man was so full of leprosy and so miserable that he felt he must come to 
see whether Jesus would do anything for him. He felt sure that Jesus 
could make him well, but oh ! would he have anything to do with a leper? 

Well, he came to Jesus, and he knelt down before him, and fell on 
his face. People in the Bast often do that when they want something done 
for them. And he said, " If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." And 
Jesus felt full of pity for the poor man, and he put out his hand and 
touched him, and said to him, " I will ; be thou clean." And directly 
Jesus had said that, the leper was well. Sin is just like leprosy. A baby's 
naughtiness does not look very bad ; it is only like a little spot. But that 
naughtiness spreads and gets stronger as baby gets older, and nobody but 
Jesus can take it away. 

When the leper was healed he was allowed to go into cities again 
amongst the people who were well. And if Jesus has washed away our 
sins in his own blood, we are allowed to go to heaven when we die, and 
to be with God and the angels, and with all the holy people there. I 
wonder whether Jesus has taken away your naughty heart yet. If not, 
will you say this little prayer every day : " Create in me a clean heart, O 
God/" And if you really mean that prayer when you say it, Jesus will 
make you quite well, just as he did the leper. 



JESUS IN GALILEE. 



319 



Jesus Christ's body must ofteu have felt very tired, for crowds 
followed him about all the time. They came from Perea, aud from Judaea, 
and from other places too, to see the wonderful new Teacher. And Jesus 
preached to thern 
all, and healed 
their sicknesses. 
The most wonder- 
ful sermon that 
was ever preached 
in all the world 
is called the Ser- 
mon on the Mount, 
because Jesus sat 
down on a hill to 
preach it. I think 
that was the day 
Jesus chose the 
last five of his 
disciples. 

There is a 
mountain, or hill, 
a few miles from 
the Sea of Galilee, 
called the Horns 
of Hattin. People 
who have seen 
that hill think 
that most likely 
Jesus preached 
that wonderful 
sermon there. It 
looks exactly like 
a great saddle, the sermon on the mount. 

with two pommels, or horns, on each side of it. That is why it is called 
the Horns of Hattin. One of the horns is flat at the top, and the saddle 
part is flat. Most likely Jesus went to the top of the horn, and called his 
twelve disciples together there, because it was a quiet place ; and then came 




320 JESUS IN GALILEE. 

down to the flat saddle part to preach, because there was plenty of rooiii 
there for the crowd of people to sit down. 

The people of Capernaum were delighted when Jesus came back to 
them again. They crowded to the house, as they did on that wonderful 
Sabbath evening I told you about, and Jesus preached to them, and healed 
them. Some Pharisees went to the house too. Presently four men came 
along, carrying a friend of theirs on a mat or thin mattress. They had 
to carry him because he had palsy, and palsy is an illness that takes all 
the strength out of legs and arms, and prevents people from moving about 
by themselves. We often call that illness paralysis. That sick man was 
unhappy as well as ill, for he knew that he was a sinner. 

These four friends had heard about Jesus, and they were quite sure 
that he would make the sick man well if he saw him. But how were 
they to get him into the house ? There were a number of persons inside, 
and all round the door there was such a crowd that it was impossible to 
get near it. For a little while these four men looked about, and then 
they thought of a plan. First they went up a staircase outside the house; 
and then they made a hole in the roof. That was very easy ; the roofs 
of houses in the Hast are flat, and are often made of scarcely anything 
else but bits of stick and earth. And then they tied some ropes round 
the mattress, and let it carefully down into the large room underneath, 
just before the place where Jesus was sitting. 

Jesus was not going to disappoint those four men. He saw that 
they trusted him. But he did not take away their sick friend's palsy 
directly; he did something better. He said to him, "Son, be of good 
cheer (be happy) ; thy sins be forgiven thee." When the Pharisees who 
were in the room heard that, they thought to themselves, " Who is this ? 
Who can forgive sins but God only ? " 

Jesus knew their thoughts, and he said, "Is it easier to say to 
the sick of the palsy, ' Thy sins be forgiven thee,' or to say ' Arise, take 
up thy bed, and .walk ? ' " Then, to show that he was the Son of God, 
and had a right to forgive sins, he said to the sick of the palsy, " Arise, 
and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house." 

And strength came into the poor man's arms and legs at once. He 
got up, rolled up his mattress, and went away to his house, thanking and 
praising God. He might well thank God ! His sins were forgiven, and 
his body was well. And as the crowds of people watched him walking 



THE STORM ON THE LAKE. 321 

along and carrying his bed, they too praised God, an6. said, " We never 
saw anything like this. We have seen strange things to-day." But I am 
afraid that even then the Pharisees did not believe on Jesus. 

THE STORM ON THE LAKE. 

JESUS went again into every pan of Galilee to tell people the good 
news that a Saviour had come. His twelve disciples went with him. 

Three rich women went witli him too. They were called Mary, 
Susanna, and Joanna. They bought things with their own money for 
Jesus and his disciples to eat, and they got their food ready for them 
when they were tired, and waited upon them. 

Joanna was the wife of King Herod's steward, so perhaps she was 
the mother of that boy who had fever — the boy who was made well by 
Jesus. If so, I do not wonder that she loved to wait upon her boy's 
Friend and Saviour. He was her Friend and Saviour too, and Susanna's 
and Mary's, for he had made all of them well when they had been ill. 
But whatever the holy Jesus did, the Pharisees only hated him more. 
One day he sent a bad spirit out of a poor blind man who could not 
speak, and made him quite well. And the Jews from Jerusalem, who were 
watching Jesus, said that Satan had helped him to do that. Did you ever 
hear of anything so wicked, or so silly either? 

When Jesus went back to the Sea of Galilee, he preached to the 
crowds again out of a boat. He told them most beautiful stories. They liked 
these stories so much that they did not care to go away — not even when it 
was evening. But Jesus and his disciples needed rest, so Jesus told the dis- 
ciples to go over to the other side of the lake. But even then they were 
liindered. Some men came, and said that they wanted to be Jesus Christ's 
disciples. But Jesus said to them : " The foxes have holes, and the birds of 
the air have nests ; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." 

Jesus meant that he had no home to call his very own, and that 
liis true disciples must be ready to leave their homes too, if he called 
them. At last the boat started, and Jesus was so tired that he lay down 
at the end, out of the way of the men who were rowing, and put his head 
upon a pillow, and fell fast asleep. There were other little boats going 
across the lake with Jesus. Perhaps there was not room for all of the 
disciples in the same boat. 

21 




322 



CHRIST AT GADARA. 



THE STORM ON THE LAKE. 323 

Soon the wind began to blow, and it blew londer and londer. Then 
the waves curled over and dashed into the boat. Then more waves, and 
then more, till the boat was nearly full. But still Jesus slept quietly on. 
The disciples were afraid that their boat would sink, and they came to 
Jesus, and woke him, and said, "Master! Master! we perish! Lord, save!" 

And Jesus arose, and told the wind to be silent, and he said to the 
sea, " Peace, be still." And suddenly the wind stopped, and the sea was 
quite quiet. Then Jesus said gently to his disciples, " Where is your 
faith ? " Those disciples might have known that the boat could not sink 
when Jesus was in it. The disciples were very much surprised, and they 
felt afraid too. And they said one to another, " What manner of man is 
this, that even the winds and the seas obey him ? " 

And now the boat stopped. It had come to a beautiful town on a 
dill at the other side of the lake. The town was called Gadara. The 
people who lived there were almost like heathen. They did one thing 
which the Jews were never allowed to do. They kept pigs. When Jesus 
came out of the boat, there were a great many pigs on the side of the hill 
— about two thousand. 

Jesus saw something else too. Two wild men were running down 
the hill to meet him. Wicked spirits had made those men wild. They 
were so wild that nobody could do anything with them. They would not 
put on their clothes, and they screamed and howled, and they cut them- 
selves with stones. Hven if they were tied fast with chains, they broke 
the chains off quite easily. And they were so fierce and so strong that 
nobody liked to come near them. 

But when those men came near Jesus they fell down at his feet, and 
the bad spirits which were in them begged Jesus to let them alone. Those 
bad spirits were Satan's servants, and they knew quite well that Jesus was 
stronger than Satan. They knew that they would have to do whatever 
Jesus told them. 

And Jesus said to one of the men, "What is thy name?" And he 
said, " My name is Legion." A legion meant six thousand soldiers ; but 
the poor man meant that he was full of evil spirits. Then those bad 
spirits said to Jesus, " If we must go away, let us go into those pigs." 
And Jesus said, " Go." And the wicked spirits came out of the man, and 
went into the pigs. And, at once, all the pigs rushed down the hill into 
the lake, and were drowned. 



324 THE STORM ON THE LAKE. 

It served the men of Gadara right to lose their pigs. They had no 
business to be keeping them. Those pigs were often used for wicked 
heathen sacrifices to gods of wood and stone, and Jesus showed that he 
was not pleased about that. The men who looked after the pigs ran fast 
into the town of Gadara to tell all the things that had happened, and 
every one came out of the city to see whether it really was true. Yes. 
There was one of the wild men sitting quite quietly at the feet of Jesus, 
with his clothes on. And there was the place where the pigs had been 
eating ; but there was not a single pig left. 

And all the people begged Jesus to go away directly. They loved 
their pigs better than they loved him. There was no room for him in 
Gadara, no place where he might lay his head, even now that he was so 
tired. So he went back again to Capernaum. 

Just as the boat was starting, the man who was made well came to 
Jesus, and he begged him to let him stay with him always. But Jesus 
said, "No. Go home to thy friends, and tell them what great things the 
Lord God has done for thee." So the man stayed behind, and became a 
missionary to all the people he met, like the woman of Samaria; for he 
told them about Jesus, and about what Jesus had done for him. 

When Jesus came back to Capernaum he found all the people there 
looking out for him. They were quite pleased that he had come back so 
soon. Soon a man, called Jairus, came and fell down at his feet and 
begged him to go to his house. Jairus had one little girl, about twelve 
years old, and she was dying. So Jesus and his disciples started to go to 
Jairus' house, and a great crowd of people went with him. 

There was a woman in Capernaum just then who had been ill for 
twelve years. She had paid such a number of doctors for medicine that 
all her money was gone. And the worst of it was that the doctors had 
done her no good. She was more ill than ever. But she heard about 
Jesus, and she believed what she had heard. She thought to herself, 
"Jesus is -so good and great, that I need only touch his clothes, and I 
shall be well." 

So she crept quietly with her pale face through the crowd till she 
got just behind Jesus, and then she put out her hand, and touched the 
edge of his long dress. What had happened ? She felt suddenly well and 
strong again ! We know how that was. 

Just at that moment Jesus turned round in the middle of the crowd 



THE STORM ON THE LAKE. 325 

and said, "Who touched my clothes?" I suppose the people thought that 
Jesus did not like to be so crowded up, for they all began to say, " I 
didn't do it " " It wasn't I." Even the disciples could not understand 
what Jesus meant. They said, " Master, all the people are crowding thee, 
and touching thee." 

But that poor, shy, frightened woman knew what Jesus meant, and 
she saw that he knew all about her. So she came and fell at the feet of 
Jesus before all the people, and told him what she had done. And Jesus 
spoke comfortingly to the poor woman. He called her " daughter," and he 
told her to go in peace. Just then some one came to Jairus, and said, "It 
is of no use to trouble the Master any more. The child is dead." Poor 
Jairus! how sad he must have felt! But Jesus said to him quickly, "Do 
not be afraid. Only believe, and she shall be made well.'"' 

When Jesus came to the house of Jairus he heard a great noise. 
As soon as any one dies in the East, people come to the house, and cry 
and howl, and play wretched music. They are paid to do that. Is it not 
a curious plan ? That was the noise which Jesus heard, and he asked, 
" Why do you make this ado ? The little maid is sleeping." And thoo^ 
rude people laughed at Jesus just as if he did not know what he was 
talking about. So Jesus turned them all out. They deserved it. Death 
is not a thing to laugh about, and it was shocking to laugh at Jesus. 

Then Jesus took three of his disciples — Peter, and James, and John — 
and Jairus and his wife ; and they went together to look at the child. 
There she was, lying quite still. Life had flown away from her body. 
But Jesus took hold of the little girl's hand, and said, " My little lamb, I 
say unto thee, Arise." And life flew back to her body again, and she opened 
her eyes, and got up, and walked. And Jesus told her father and mother 
to give her something to eat. That was what doctors in the East used to do 
when the}'- wanted to show that they thought a patient quite well ; Jesus, 
the Good and Great Physician, often did the same things as the other 
physicians of Palestine when he saw that their plans were right and good ones. 

When Jesus came out of Jairus' house, two blind men followed him, 
begging him to make them well. Jesus waited till he had got back to the 
house where he was staying, and then he touched their eyes, and made 
them see. And then, just as they went out of the house, another man 
was brought in. Satan had put a wicked spirit into that man which would 
not let him speak. 




326 



THE STORM ON THE LAKE. 327 

Sometimes Satan puts a bad spirit something like that into little 
children's hearts, and then they will not answer when they are spoken to. 
They only frown, and look cross and sulky. But Jesus can send away all 
kinds of wicked spirits. He sent away that man's dumb spirit just as 
easily as he had sent awajr the noisy spirits ' at Gadara. Will you ask 
him to take away the sulky tempers when they come ? 

The Pharisees still kept on muttering, "It is Satan who helps him 
to do that." As if Satan would send away himself! The Pharisees could 
not understand Jesus loving people who were poor, or blind, or lepers. 
The j?- thought them all unholy and unclean, and would have nothing at all 
to do with them. Why, those were the very people who wanted Jesus 
Christ's help. 

Talitha cumi — the mother said. 

As she bent o'er her darling's tiny bed, 

And the baby opened her dreamy eyes, 

And gazed on her mother with glad surprise. 

Talitha acini — the words so dear, 
And words that the little one loved to hear, 
So gently the spell of her slumber broke, 
That the baby smiled when the mother spoke. 

Talitha cumi — the well-known word 

Of tenderest greeting, the maiden heard, 

As Jesus bent o'er the little bed 

And laid his hand on the sleeper's head. 

Talitha cumi — my little lamb : 
At the gentle summons the spirit came, 
And the power of death in the dust was laid, 
When the Saviour spoke to the little maid. 

King Herod Antipas had had John the Baptist's head cut off in the 
prison, called the Black Castle, by the side of the Dead Sea. Part of the 
castle was a palace. It was a beautiful palace, with lovely furniture and 
a colored marble floor. One day Herod gave a grand birthday party there. 
The wicked woman he had married, his brother's wife, was at the party. 



328 THE STORM ON THE LAKE. 

Her name was Herodias. Herodias hated John the Baptist because he had 
said that Herod ought not to marry her. And she liked to be a king's 
wife. She thought that was grand. So she made up her mind to have 
John the Baptist killed. 

Herodias had a daughter called Salome, who danced beautifully. 
And on that birthday-party day King Herod was so pleased with Salome's 
dancing that he said, "I will give you anything you ask me for." That 
was a silly and a wrong promise. Salome went to her mother and said, 
"What shall I ask?" And Herodias said, "Ask for the head of John 
the Baptist." And Salome came back quickly, and said, "I want the 
head of John the Baptist. I want it now." Oh, Salome ! Salome was 
only about fourteen years old, but she had learned her mother's bad ways 
very fast. 

Now, dear children, it is generally wrong to break a promise. But 
it is not wrong to break a wicked promise. It is wrong to make it. 
Herod ought to have broken that promise. He was sorry he had made it, 
but he was afraid of what other people in the party would think if he 
did not do what he had said. So he actually sent to the prison, and had 
John the Baptist's head cut off to give to that d_rmng girl. 

John the Baptist's disciples took up their master's body (I suppose 
it was thrown over the wall of the castle) and buried it. And then they 
went and told Jesus what had happened. That was the very best thing 
they could have done. I am sure that Jesus comforted them, and made 
them feel happy again. But Herod was not happy. He knew he had 
done a wicked thing, and he felt frightened. But he did not ask God to 
forgive him. 

And now Jesus Christ's twelve disciples came back from their mis- 
sionary journey. They had a great deal to talk about, and they were 
tired. But there were always so many people coming to see Jesus that 
they could get no quiet time at all, no time even to eat. 

They were all at the Lake of Galilee again. And Jesus told them 
to come away with him into a desert place, and rest a while. That desert 
place was on the other side of the lake, near a town called Bethsaida, 
where Peter, and his brother Andrew, and Philip lived once upon a time* 
The desert was a nice grassy place ; and there were no houses there, no 
shops, no people. 

Then Jesus and his disciples got into a boat as quietly as they 



THE STORM ON THE LAKE. 329 

could, and went away. But some people near the lake caught sight of the 
boat, and they saw who was in it ; and they ran, ran so fast along the 
shore of the lake that they got to the desert before Jesus was there. It was 
nearly Passover time, the time when everybody went up to Jerusalem. And 
soon an immense crowd came round Jesus. The desert place was not a desert 
any more. No ; it was full of people. And when Jesus saw all these lost 
sheep he felt very sorry for them, and he began to teach them many things. 

By and by it got late, and the disciples came to Jesus, and said, 
" It is late, and this is a desert place. Send the crowds away, that they 
may buy some food, and find a place to sleep in." But Jesus said, "They 
need not go away. Give them some food yourselves." And he said to 
Philip, " Where shall we buy food, that these people may eat ? " Jesus 
knew very well w r hat he was going to do, but he asked Philip just to see 
what he would say. And Philip said, " Two hundred pennyworth of bread 
would not be enough for them, for every one of them to take a little." 

Jesus said, " How many loaves have you ? Go and see." And 
Andrew said, " There is a boy here with five barley loaves and two fishes ; 
but what are they among so many?" And Jesus told him to bring the 
loaves and fishes to him. Then Jesus said, " Make the people sit down." 
So the disciples arranged the crowds in rows on the grass. And when 
everv one was ready, Jesus took the five loaves and the two fishes in his 
hands, and he blessed them, and divided them, and gave them to the dis- 
ciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 

And there was plenty for everybody. Jesus made those loaves and 
fishes last out till everybody had had enough. And then he said, " Gather 
up the fragments (that means the little pieces) that are left, that nothing 
be lost." And the disciples picked the little pieces up, and put them 
together in baskets. And there were twelve large baskets full — more than 
they had at first. 

Yes, Jesus can make corn grow and fishes swim ; and he could 
make food last out in that wonderful way. But all the same, he would 
not allow anything to be wasted. Will you remember that, dear children, 
and try not to waste anything — food or anything else ? There were five 
thousand men in that grassy place, and a great many women and children 
besides. And when the people saw the miracle that Jesus had done they 
said, " This must be the Messiah ; " and they wanted to make him their 
king — the king of their country, but not the king of their hearts. 



330 



THE STORM ON THE LAKE. 



And Jesus, you know, did not wish to be made a king like Herod 
or Caesar. He was God, so lie was King of kings already. So lie made 
his disciples go away at once in the boat to the other side of the lake, 
and he sent the crowds away himself. I suppose the crowds were trying 

to get the disciples to 
help them to make 
Jesus a king. 

When Jesus was 
alone, he went up into 
a mountain and prayed. 
How glad he must have 
been to have a little 
time quite quietly with 
his Heavenly Father ! 
But now a great wind 
began to blow, and the 
waves on the Lake of 
Galilee began to toss 
about. The disciples 
rowed hard, but they 
could not get on ; the 
wind kept trying to blow 
them back. But Jesus 
saw them, and when the 
night was nearly over, 
he came to them walk- 
ing on the sea. 

Were not the dis- 
ciples pleased when they 
saw Jesus ? No ; they 
were actually fright- 
ened. They had never 
seen him walking on the water before, and they could not understand who 
he was, and they cried out for fear. Oh, foolish disciples ! But Jesus was 
sorry for them, and he spoke kindly to them directly, and said, " Be of 
good cheer (that means, 'Be glad'). It is I. Be not afraid." 

And Peter said, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the 




CHRIST SAVES PETER FROM SINKING. 



THE STORM ON "THE LAKE. 



331 



water." And Jesus said, "Come." And Peter jumped out of the boat, and 
walked on the water to go to Jesus. But soon Peter began to think of the 
rough wind and waves instead of thinking about Jesus, and then he could 
not get on at all, 
and he began to 
sink in the water, 
and called out, 
" Lord, save me! " 
A.nd Jesus put out 
his hand directly, 
and caught him, 
and said, " O thou 
of little faith , where- 
fore didst thou 
doubt?" Then they 
both came into the 
boat, and the wind 
stopped blowing. 
And the disciples 
fell down at the feet 
of Jesus, and said, 
"Thou art the Son 
of God." 

Then, all at 
once, the}'- saw that 
their boat was close 
to the land. Jesus 
had brought it 
there. It was very 
early in the morn- 
ing when Jesus and 
the disciples got out 
of the boat, but peo- 
ple found out that they had come back, and they ran at once to Jesus ; 
and those people were not selfish. They sent and told their friends who 
lived quite a long way off about the Saviour; and those friends came too, 
and they brought sick people with them, h 7 ing on mats, and they asked 




" I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE." 



332 THE STORM ON THE LAKE. 

Jesus to allow those sick persons just to touch him. And every one who 
touched him was made perfectly well. 

The crowds near Bethsaida could not understand what had become 
of Jesus. They had seen the disciples go away in the boat the night 
before, but Jesus was not with them then. Where could he be? They 
wanted him to give them some more food to eat. They had forgotten all 
about his beautiful words. 

At last some of those people came over to Capernaum in boats to 
look for Jesus, and when he saw them he said, " Ye are looking for me 
because ye did eat of the loaves." 

And then he told them that their souls wanted food even more than 
their bodies ; and he said that God would give them bread from heaven if 
they really wanted to have it. What does " bread from heaven " mean ? 
Ah, it means Jesus. Jesus said : " / am the Bread of Life.'''' 

A little while after that Jesus preached in the synagogue in Caper- 
naum about being the Bread of Life. But the Jews there did not 
understand him ; they did not want to understand him ; and a number of 
his friends went away after they had heard that sermon. They would 
have nothing more to do with him. They all wanted a king, and bread 
for their bodies, you see, like the poor hungry people who sat down on 
the grass. But they did not want a Saviour, and food for their souls. 

" A lad hath here five barley loaves " 

(Feeble the rising faith and dim), 
"But what are they?" Yet at his word 

They brought the barley loaves to him. 

How honored was the lad whose store 
The gracious Master deigned to spread, 

For lo ! that morsel in his hands 

Supplied five thousand men with bread. 

Small is our store, nor have we power 

To give the multitude to eat, 
But we may bring our barley loaves, 

And lay them at the Master's feet. 



SAMARITAN STORIES. 333 

He needs them not, yet will he deign 
His humblest servant's work to bless, 

As when the lad's five barley loaves 
Fed thousands in the wilderness. 

SAMARITAN STORIES. 

AS Jesus and his disciples went along, they saw ten lepers standing 
a long way off. Poor men ! they did not dare to come near Jesus, 
but they cried out in the strange voice which lepers have, "Jesus, 
Master, have mercy on us." Nine of the lepers were Jews, and one was a 
Samaritan. And Jesus was sorry for them all, and said, " Go, show your- 
selves to the priests." 

When the lepers heard that, they felt sure that Jesus meant to heal 
them, for lepers did not show themselves to the priests till they were well. 
So they turned straight round to go to the priests, and lo! as they were 
going along the road, they suddenly felt that they were strong and well 
again. When the Samaritan felt in himself that the leprosy had gone 
away, he turned back, and threw himself down at the feet of Jesus, and 
thanked him, and thanked God too for all his goodness. But none of the 
nine Jews came back to thank Jesus. 

A few days after that a man came to Jesus, and asked how he could 
get to heaven. Jesus said that he must love God with all his heart, and 
his neighbor as himself. Then the man said, "Who is my neighbor?" 
So Jesus told him a story, which I will tell you now, because it was 
about a Samaritan. 

A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho — such a rough road; 
that is, with great rocky steps leading down, down, down. There are 
robbers there, and they found the man, and took off all his clothes, and 
hurt him so badly that he nearly died. Soon a priest passed by, but he 
took no notice of the poor man ; he only crossed over to the other side of 
the road. Then a servant of the Temple came and looked at him, and 
crossed over to the other side. 

But a Samaritan who was travelling that way came where the poor 
man was ; and he felt very sorry for him, and went to him, and poured 
oil and wine on the places where the thieves had hurt him, and tied them 
up carefully ; and then he put the man on his own beast, a horse or a 



SAMARITAN STORIES. 335 

donkey, or a camel, and brought him safely to the inn near by. The 
Samaritan took care of the poor man that night ; and next day, when he 
had to go away, he gave some money to the man who took care of the 
inn, and said, " Take care of him, and if j^ou spend any more money I 
will pay 3^011 when I come back." 

When Jesus had finished that story he said, " Which now of these 
three was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?" You can 
answer that question, I think ; and I hope that you will go and do like 
that Samaritan. While Jesus was travelling along from Capernaum to 
Jerusalem, the Jews at the Feast of Tabernacles were looking all about the 
city for him, and asking one another, "Where is he?" Some said, "He 
is a good man ;" but others said, " No, he is not ; he tells the people things 
that are not true." 

One da} T , about the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus was 
found sitting and teaching quietly in the Temple, just as he always did. 
And as the Jews listened to his words they were greatly puzzled and said r 
"How does this man know so much, when no one has taught him?" 
Then Jesus explained that it was God who had taught him ; and he told 
the Jews that God would teach them too if they wanted to learn. 

But Jesus knew that those Jews did not want to learn ; he knew 
that even now they were making plans to take away his life. So he said. 
to them, suddenly, " Why go ye about to kill me ? " The Jews were very- 
much ashamed when they found that Jesus knew their thoughts. They 
did not know what to say, so they were rude, and angry, and said, " Thou, 
hast a devil. Who goeth about to kill thee?" 

But some of the people who were standing by began to think, 
" Perhaps this really is the Christ." And when the priests and the 
Pharisees knew that, they sent some of the Temple police to take Jesus 
prisoner. It was now the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. It was 
the last day that the people would go down to the stream of water near 
the Temple hill with the priests, singing, " Ho, every one that thirsteth,. 
come ye to the waters." And they wanted something better than that 
water, something that they could carry away with them — they wanted living 
water for their thirsty hearts. And as Jesus saw the crowds, he stood and 
cried, " If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." 

Are your hearts thirsty, dear children ? Do you want the living 
water — the Holy Spirit which Jesus gives to svery one who asks him to* 



336 SAMARITAN STORIES. 

do so ? If so, come unto Jesus, aud drink. As the Temple police listened 
to the beautiful words which the Lord Jesus spoke, they felt, "It is no 
use, we cannot take that man prisoner." And they came back to the 
priests and the Pharisees who sent them. 

When the priests and Pharisees looked up, and saw that Jesus was 
not there, they said, " Why have ye not brought him ? " And the officers 
answered, "Never man spake as this man." The priests and Pharisees 
were disappointed, and said rude and angry things to the police. Then 
one of the Rabbis, called Nicodemus — the Rabbi who came to Jesus by 
night — said to the others gently, "Would it not be well to listen to Jesus, 
and to see what he does, before you find fault with him ? " It was all of 
no good. The priests and Pharisees only turned round now to Nicodemus, 
and were rude to him too. They did not want to believe in Jesus. 

Did Jesus come back the next day to the Temple? Oh yes. He 
knew that the Jews could do him no harm till God's time had come. 
Very early in the morning he was there, and the people crowded round 
him directly they saw him, and he sat down and taught them again. I 
will tell you just one thing that Jesus told the people that day. He said, 
" / am the Light of the worldP 

The Feast of Tabernacles was quite over now. The beautiful illu- 
mination in the Court of the Women, which lighted up the whole city, 
would not be lighted up any more for a year. But Jesus lights up the 
hearts of those who love him, and makes them bright, and happy, and 
holy; and he is ready to be the Light of every one in the world who will 
let him. But the Jews would not let Jesus shine into their dark hearts. 
As he went on talking, they argued with him, were very rude to him, and 
at last took up stones to throw at him. Then Jesus hid himself, and went 
quietly away. 

We can't be quite sure where Jesus went. Most likely it was to a 
village called Bethany. Just opposite the Temple hill, Mount Moriah, 
there was another hill, called the Mount of Olives. Bethany was right 
over on the other side of the Mount of Olives, and Jesus often walked 
over the hill to see some friends of his there, one brother and two sisters 
who lived in the village. 

The names of those friends of Jesus were Mary and Martha and 
Lazarus. Jesus loved them very much, and they loved him. But Mary 
and Martha showed their love in very different ways. Mary sat as quiet 




22 



JESUS AND THE SISTERS OE BETHANY. 



337 



338 SAMARITAN STORIES. 

and still as possible when Jesus came in, and listened to every word that 
he said ; and Martha wanted so ranch to make him happy and comfortable 
that she ran about the whole time doing things for him, instead of listen- 
ing to the beautiful words he was saying. 

One day when Martha saw Mary sitting still listening to Jesus, she 
felt so vexed that she came and asked Jesus to speak to her and make 
her come and help. Martha was so much vexed with Mary that she 
spoke a little crossly even to Jesus. Then Jesus explained gently to 
Martha that he did not want her and Mary to be busy doing things for 
him all the time. The grand dinners which kept Martha so busy would 
soon be forgotten ; but the words which Mary was listening to could never 
be taken away from her. 

One day the Pharisees turned him out of the synagogue. He told 
them they could see things with their eyes, but they could not see that 
their hearts were full of sin. How could blind people like that look after 
the poor lost sheep among the Jews? 

Then Jesus preached one of the most beautiful little sermons he 
ever preached at all. I will tell you a bit of it. He said: "I am the 
door of the sheep ; by me if any man enter in he shall be saved. I am 
the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I 
am the Good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine ; and 
I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not 
of this fold ; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and 
there shall be one fold under one Shepherd." 

The "other sheep" Jesus spoke about meant the Gentiles, the people 
who are not Jews. It meant you and me, and it meant all the heathen. 
He has called us. He is calling the heathen. And many sheep, many 
quite little lambs, have heard the voice of Jesus, and are following him. 
Have you heard him calling you ? Have you followed him ? If not, oh 
make haste to go after him now. 

That beautiful sermon makes me think of a kind of little story 
which Jesus once told the people who were crowding around him. He 
said: "What man of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, 
doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that 
which is lost until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it 
on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together 
his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have 



SAMARITAN STORIES. 



339 



found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise joy shall 
be m heaven over one sinner that repenteth." 

But the Jews of Jerusalem did not repent. They could not be sorry 
for their sins, because they did not think they had any. They did not 
listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd because they were not his sheep. 
I do not know what Jesus did next. Perhaps he went to Perea, on the 
other side of the River Jordan, to preach and to teach. Perhaps he stayed 
in Bethany. But in two or three months he came to the Temple again 
for another feast. 

But the Jews were not sorry even now; they would not listen to 
Jesus even now; they behaved worse than ever, and took up stones to 




throw at him. This time Jesus went quite away from Jerusalem across 
the River Jordan to Perea, and he never came back again to Jerusalem till 
he came back to die. 

Jesus came back once to Bethany from Perea. Soon after Jesus had 
gone away from Bethany his friend Lazarus became very ill. How much 
Martha and Mary longed for Jesus now! They thought, "If Jesus were 
here, our brother would not die ; " and they sent a messenger to him to 
say, " Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick." When Jesus heard that, he 
said, " This sickness will be for God's glory. It will not end in death." 
And he stayed on quietly where he was for two days longer. Then he 
said to his disciples, " Let us go into Judaea again." And they did not 



340 SAMARITAN STORIES. 

wish hiin to go, and said, " Lord, the Jews of late sought to stone thee, 
and goest thou there again ? " Then he told them, " Our friend Lazarus 
sleepeth ; but I go that I may awake him out of his sleep." That sur- 
prised the disciples. They said, " Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well." 
Then Jesus told them plainly that Lazarus was dead. 

When those who love Jesus die, their death is called a sleep. That 
is why Jesus said that Lazarus was sleeping. But Jesus had said a little 
while before that the sickness would not end in death ; and yet now Lazarus 
was dead. How was that ? What did Jesus mean ? Ah ! very soon you 
will see. When the disciples found that Jesus really meant to go, they 
said that they would go too, and die with him. They knew how much 
the Jews hated Jesus. They knew that they were only waiting for a 
chance to kill him. But Jesus was never afraid to go anywhere where it 
was his duty to go ; and the disciples loved Jesus, so that made them brave. 

It took Jesus quite a day to get to Bethany, and by this time 
Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. The two sisters were in the 
house. A number of Jews were with them. They had come over from 
Jerusalem to sit with Martha and Mary, and to try to comfort them. That 
is always the plan in that country. Presently somebody came to Martha, 
and said to her quietly, "Jesus is coming." Directly Martha heard that, 
she got up, and went out to meet him. And when she saw Jesus, she 
said, " Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother would not have died ; but 
I know that even now whatever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it 
thee." Jesus said to her, " Thy brother shall rise again." And Martha 
said, " I know that he shall rise again at the last day." 

And Jesus said to Martha, " I am the resurrection and the life ; he 
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whoso- 
ever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this ? " 
And Martha said, " Yes, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son 
of God, the Messiah the Jews are expecting." Then Jesus asked to see 
Mary, and Martha came back and told her very quietly that Jesus had 
come ; and Mary jumped up quickly and went out. When the Jews saw 
that, they said, " She is going to her brother's grave to weep there," and 
they too went after her, crying. 

When Mary saw Jesus, she said, as Martha had done, " Lord, if 
thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw 
how unhappy Mary and the Jews were, he too felt very sad, aud said, 



SAMARITAN STORIES. 



341 



"Where have ye laid him?" And they said, "Lord, come and see." And 
then — Jesus wept. " See how he loved Lazarus," said the Jews ; and they 
wondered that Jesus had let his friend die. 

Now they had come to the grave. It was a hole in the side of a 
rock, and there was a heavy stone over it. Jesus said, " Take ye away 
the stone ;" and they rolled it away. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes, and 
thanked God that he had heard his prayer and given him back the life of 




" LAZARUS, COME FORTH." 

Lazarus. And then he cried with a loud voice, " Lazarus, come forth." 
And the man who had been dead came out of the cave alive. He was all 
wrapped round with white linen, and could not move very well, because 
in that country it was the plan to wrap dead bodies up in long white 
clothes, with sweet-smelling stuff inside. But Jesus told the people 
who were standing round to unfasten the pieces of linen, and to let 
Lazarus go home. 



342 SAMARITAN STORIES. 

So the sickness of Lazarus had not ended in death after all. It was 
just as Jesus had said, it had been for the glory of God. 

One Sabbath day, when Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, he 
saw a poor woman who was doubled up with rheumatism. You have seen 
people, perhaps, whose hands are quite drawn out of their proper shape 
with rheumatism ; but this poor woman's whole body was bent by it, so 
;hat she could not possibly stand upright. And when Jesus saw her he ' 
called her to him and laid his hands on her, and told her that he had 
made her well, and she was well directly. Then the woman praised God 
for his goodness and love, and the people of the country were glad, 
and praised God. 

Another Sabbath day came, and a Pharisee asked Jesus to come and 
eat at his house. While Jesus was there, a poor man came in who was 
all swollen with an illness called dropsy, and the Pharisees watched Jesus 
to see whether he would make him well. But they need not have watched. 
They might have known beforehand that Jesus would be sure to make him 
well, whether it was the Sabbath or whether it was any other day. And 
when Jesus had healed the man and sent him away, he turned to the 
Pharisees, and said, " If any of you had an ox or an ass which had fallen 
into a pit, would you not pull it out at once on the Sabbath day ? " Of 
course they would, and a man is worth more than an ox or an ass. The 
Pharisees were ashamed when they saw how foolish they had been, but 
they were not really sorry. 

In that country it was the plan for the Jews to bring their children 
to the Rabbis to be blessed, and as Jesus was a great Rabbi, I dare say 
that little children had often been brought to him that he might put his 
hands upon them and pray. But one day, when the mothers of Perea 
brought their little ones to Jesus, the disciples found fault with them for 
coming, and tried to keep them away. 

Why was that ? Perhaps it was because Jesus was tired, or perhaps 
it was because the children looked dirty and wretched. In the pictures of 
Jesus blessing the little ones, the children are made to look plump, pretty, 
and rosy ; but I dare say that they were really poor babies with scarcely 
anything on, and with very sore or quite blind eyes, and poor thin little 
girls and boys with dreadful diseases all over them. For mothers in the 
East do not understand at all how to take care of their children, and, 
though they love them very dearly, they neglect them very much indeed. 



SAMARITAN STORIES. 



343 



But when Jesus saw what the disciples were doing he was much 
displeased, and said to them : " Suffer little children, and forbid them not, 
to come luito me : for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.''"' 

And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and 
blessed them. It did not matter to him whether they were clean or dirty, 
sick or well, fretful or good. He just gathered all those little lambs with 
his arms, and folded them in his bosom. But I can't help thinking that 




CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 

he took up the most wretched ones first, and held them the most closely 
and the longest. He then blessed and prayed for the children and went away. 
This is one of the most touching scenes described in the Gospel 
story. Christ was fond of the little ones ; he would not send them away 
without his blessing. He knew they would soon grow to be men or 
women, and the lessons taught them in childhood would never be forgotten. 
Jesus loves the children now as much as he did when upon earth, and is 
ready to receive them when they come to him. 



LAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM. 

THE people in Jerusalem heard that Christ was coining, and crowds 
of them poured out to meet him. They carried boughs of palm- 
trees in their hands, and waved them, and cried Hosanna, just as 
they always did at the Feast of Tabernacles. Hundreds of years before 
this God had said that Jesus, the King of the Jews, should come one day 
to Jerusalem riding on a young ass. And Jesus knew now that the time 
had come. So he sent two of his disciples to a village a little further on 
to fetch a young ass and its mother. 

There is a quick way to that village, and there is a long, easy 
way ; so Jesus could go round the long way, and meet the crowds, while 
the disciples went the quick way, and got the ass all ready, and met Jesus 
on the road. You may be sure that the disciples went as fast as they 
could. And there, in the village, just where Jesus had told them to look, 
they found the young ass and its mother. Just as they were untying 
them, the people they belonged to said, "What are you doing?" But 
when the disciples said, "The Lord has need of them," they let them 
go directly. 

Then the disciples brought the asses to Jesus, and they spread their 
long, loose outside dresses on the back of the young ass that Jesus might 
sit upon it. And the people in the crowd took off their long, loose dresses 
and laid them on the ground that Jesus might ride over them. They do 
that in Palestine now sometimes. And they cut down branches of trees, 
and threw them down too on the ground, and they sang a beautiful song: 
" Hosanna ! Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord I 
Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest." Why ! that was almost 
exactly the same thing that the angels said when Jesus was born. 

As the crowds moved along, they talked about how Jesus had raised 
Lazarus from the dead. It was hearing about that that had excited them 
so much, and had made them come to meet Jesus. Presently Jesus came 
to a part of the Mount of Olives where he could see the beautiful city of 
Jerusalem and the wonderful Temple straight before him ; and as he 
looked at them, he wept aloud. 

Why did Jesus weep? Was it because the Jews were going to kill 
him ? Yes ; but he was not weeping for himself, but for the Jews. He 
344 



THE LAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM. 



345 



Wept because they loved their sins, and hated their Saviour. He wept 
because he knew that God would have to punish them. He knew that in 
but a very few years the Romans would come and fight against Jerusalem, 
and burn down that 



beautiful Temple, 
and kill thousands 
of the Jews, or carry 
them away as slaves. 
Were not these 
things enough to 
make the Lord 
Jesus weep ? 

"Who is 
this ? " the people 
in Jerusalem asked, 
when they saw Jesus 
and the crowds 
which went before 
and followed him. 
And the crowds told 
them that he was 
Jesus, a prophet 
(that means, you 
remember, a great 
preacher) of Naza- 
reth of Galilee. 

And now Je- 
sus went into the 
Temple. There, in 
the Court of the 
Gentiles, just as 
when he began his 
work three years Christ's entry into Jerusalem. 

before, Jews were buying and selling and money-changing, and shouting 
and quarreling, and making a noise. If any poor Gentile had tried to say 
his prayers there, I am sure he could not have attended to what he was 
saying. Jesus just looked round at everything and everybody; and then, 




846 THE LAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM. 

as it was getting towards evening, lie and his twelve disciples went quietly 
back to his friends at Bethany. 

It was now just four days before the Passover. Next morning Jesus 
walked with' his disciples from Bethany to Jerusalem, and as he went 
along he began to feel hungry, just as you do if you go out early in 
the morning. 

Now there were a number of fruit-trees growing near Bethany, and 
anybody was allowed to gather and eat the fruit, just as people can do 
now in Kashmir. So when Jesus saw a fig-tree covered over with leaves, 
he went up to it to look for some figs. It was not really quite the right 
time for figs just yet; but figs used to come first on the fig-trees, and 
leaves afterwards; so when Jesus saw a fig-tree covered with leaves, he 
kinew there ought properly to be some fruit there too. But, no ! that fig- 
tree was like the Pharisees — it was only pretending. It looked better than 
the other trees, but there were no figs on it at all. And Jesus said that 
there never should be any more fruit upon it; and in a very few hours it 
died. The tree knew no better. Jesus did not want to punish the tree. 
But he did want to give his disciples a lesson about not pretending to 
be better than they were, like the Pharisees. 

When Jesus got to Jerusalem, he went into the Temple; and there, 
in the Court of the Gentiles, the people were buying and selling and 
making a noise, just the same as the evening before. A number of people 
who did not want to pray at all were walking through the Temple court, 
because it was a quick way to get from one side of Jerusalem to another. 
Jesus was not pleased. He said they must not do it any more. 

And he sent away the people who were selling too, and those who 
were buying; and he threw down the tables where money was being 
changed, and the seats of those who were selling doves; and he said to 
the people in the court, " My house shall be called of all nations a house 
of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves." 

Jesus wanted the Gentiles to have a quiet place to pray in as well 
as the Jews, you see; but the Jews only thought of themselves. Jesus 
thought of every one. The blind and the lame came to him in the 
Temple, and he made them, well; and when the little children in the 
Temple cried, "Hosanna to the Son of David," he was pleased to hear 
their song. But the priests were very angry. Why were the priests 
angry? What did "Hosanna to the Son of David" mean? Why, it 



THE LAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM. 



347 



meant, "Save us, Jesus our King." The priests could not bear to hear the 
children call Jesus their King, and ask him to save them. And Satan is 
very angry now when he hears a little child say, " Save me, O Jesus, my 
King." But Jesus is pleased. That night again Jesus went to Bethany. It 
was now three days 
before the Passover. 
Next day Je- 
sus must have o-ot 

o 

very, very tired. 
The priests, and the 
Pharisees, and the 
friends of Herod all 
tried, one after the 
other, to quarrel 
with him, or to make 
him say something 
wrong. But it was 
all of no use. Jesus 
answered all their 
questions so wisely 
and so well that at 
last they did not 
dare to ask him 
an3^thingmore. But 
the priests, and the 
Pharisees, and the 
friends of Herod 
could not answer the 
questions that Jesus 
asked them. That 
day Jesus told them 
exactly what he thought of all their wicked ways and unholy thoughts. 
But now I will tell you something which must have pleased Jesus. 
When people wanted to give money to the Temple, they came up into the 
Court of the Women. There were thirteen boxes there, each in the shape 
of a trumpet. Jesus sat for a while by those boxes, and watched the 
people who were putting in money. Many rich men came, and put in 




THE WIDOW GIVING HER MITES. 



348 



THE EAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM. 



a great deal, but presently a widow came (a poor woman whose husband 
was dead), and she only put in two tiny bits of money. Nobody was 
allowed to put iu less than that. And yet, what do you think? Jesus 
said that that poor widow had put in more than all the rich people, for 
she had given all the money that she had, but the rich men had only 
given what they could spare very well. 

And another thing must have pleased Jesus which happened just 
about the same time. Some Gentiles came to the Temple and said to one 
of the disciples, called Philip, " Sir, we would see Jesus." Philip came and 
told Andrew about those Gentiles. I dare say he said, " Do you think our 
Master will have anything to do with Gentiles ? " And Andrew would 
say, " Oh yes ! Do you not remember how kind he was to the woman of 

Samaria, and the wo- 
man near Cassarea, 
and to the Roman 
centurion ? " Then 
Philip and Andrew 
went together and 
told Jesus. 

The next day again 
Jesus stayed quietly 
in Bethany ; but 
Peter and John were 
very busy, for Jesus 
had sent them to Jerusalem to get ready for the Passover. They had 
to take a lamb to the Temple to be killed by the priests, and they 
had to find a house in which to eat the Passover supper. Jesus said 
to them, " Go to Jerusalem, and when you have come into the city, 
a man will meet you, carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him into 
the house that he goes to, and say to the master of the house, ' The 
Master says, My time is near, I will keep the Passover at thy house. 
Where is the visitors' room where I may eat the Passover with my dis- 
ciples ? ' " And Jesus told Peter and John that the master of that house 
would show them a large room up stairs all made nicely ready for them. 
And everything happened exactly as Jesus had said. 

When Peter and John had got the Passover supper quite ready, 
Jesus came from Bethany with the rest of his disciples, and they all sat 




THE LAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM. 349 

down together at the table; and Jesus told the disciples that he was very 
glad to eat this Passover with them, because it was the very last time he 
would eat and drink at all before he died. 

But what do you suppose the disciples were thinking about? It 
seems they had been having another squabble about who should be the 
greatest, so that, instead of thinking about Jesus at all, their minds were 
full of unkind thoughts about one another. That made the loving heart 




CHRIST WASHING HIS DISCIPLES FEET. 

of Jesus sad, and in the middle of supper he got up. What was he 
going to do ? 

First he took off his long, loose outside dress ; then he wrapt a 
towl round him; then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash 
the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the long towel which he had 
fastened round his waist. That was the work that servants in the East 
used to do, and Peter could not bear to let Jesus wait upon him. He said, 
" Lord, thou shalt never wash my feet." But Jesus told Peter that he 
must let him wash him if he wanted to be his child. 



350 THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 

When Jesus had finished washing his disciples' feet he put on his 
long coat again and sat down. And he told his disciples that he had 
given them an example, so that they might be kind to one another, and 
wait upon one another. I think that they must have been ashamed of 
their quarrelling then. 

THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 

THE evening was fast drawing to a close, but before they parted, 
Jesus gathered together, as it were, into a few words, the teaching 
of the last three years. He told his disciples to remember that 
no one could come to the Father, except through him; that is, by walking 
in the way he trod, believing the truths he taught, and accepting the life 
he gave, for he said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life." That they 
must be one with him, as the branch is one with the vine, for without 
him they could do nothing, and the only way to show they loved him 
was by keeping his words. Moreover, whatever they asked the Father in 
his name, he would do. 

"I do not call you my servants," said he, "but my friends, for I 
tell you what will happen to you. As the world has hated me, you must 
not hope, as my followers, for better treatment For a little while, you 
will not see me ; but, again, after a little while you will see me. I came 
from the Father, and I go back to the Father ; and although this night 
you will all be scattered from me, I am not alone, for the Father is with 
me. And now I have told you all this, before it come to pass; but though 
in the world you will, as I have said, have trouble, you may rejoice in 
your being one with me, for I have overcome the world." 

The little group now made their way into the streets, and through 
the city gate, which was open, it being Passover night. Was the Master 
going to Bethany ? The disciples began to hope so, for he descended the 
Temple hill and crossed the valley. Instead, however, of taking the path 
which led over the Mount of Olives, he entered a garden at its foot, called 
Gethsemane, or " the oil press." 

The Paschal moon filled the heavens with its soft quiet light, but 
not being yet risen over Olivet, the shadow of the hill fell on the garden, 
and this, with the shade of the olive-trees, and the quiet seclusion of the 
spot, made it, now, as always, dear to Christ, as his special chamber of prayer. 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 



351 



Kind and gentle as Jesus had been all the evening, comforting the 
disciples in their trouble, his own great courage, which had carried him 
through so many conflicts and temptations, seemed now almost to have left 
him. Entering the garden with Peter, James, and John, the three who had 
been nearer him than 
all the others, a 
horror of coming 
woe seemed almost 
to overpower him, 
and he longed to 
be alone with his 
Father, while thus in 
sore agony of spirit. 
Leaving the three 
disciples, therefore, 
after begging them 
to pray for him, he 
made his way a few 
steps further on, 
among the dark 
trees, and gave way 
to the feelings of 
almost despair that 
oppressed him. 

How easily he 
might have crushed 
his insolent enemies ! 
How easily called 
angels to his aid ! 
But then — ah, then, 
he would not have 
done his Father's christ in the garden of gethsemanE. 

will, and he had come to give all, his very life, that he might bring Life 
to men. So terrible was the agony of the mental conflict, that his sweat 
fell to the ground in drops of blood, while he earnestly prayed that, if it 
were possible, he might be spared his awful fate. " Nevertheless," added 
he, " not my will, but thine be done." 




352 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 



Rising, at last, to seek a little comfort from his friends, lie found 
that instead of praying for him in his trouble, their own grief had so tired 
them that they had dropped asleep. Rousing Peter, therefore, who had 
made such a boast of not leaving him, he sadly said, " Could you not 
watch with me for one hour ? Watch and pray that you may not fall into 
temptation. I know your spirit is willing," he added, as though excusing 
them ; "it is the flesh that is weak." Again he went away, and once more 
falling on his face in his sore trouble of soul, found at last the inner calm 







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THE TAKING OF CHRIST. 

he sought, when he had put away all thought of having any will, but 
that of the Eternal Father, and had lovingly said, "Not my will but 
thine be done!" 

Again going to the disciples, he found them sleeping, but the 
struggle was almost over, for he had put himself wholly into the Father's 
hands. And now an angel came and ministered to him and comforted 
him. The disciples had lost their last opportunity of serving him, for an 
armed band, led by Judas, was already approaching the garden. But the 
conflict was past. Strong in this, his final perfect submission to his 
Father, our Lord rose, and, joining his disciples, went out to give himself up. 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 353 

Judas had not been with the party, he was absent, and Jesus knew 
why. He awoke his disciples and said, "Rise, let us be going; behold, 
lie is at hand that doth betray me. And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, 
one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and 
staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people." They did not 
exactly know which was Jesus, and so Judas said he would go up to him 
and salute him, and then they would know. 

How strangely hardened his heart must have been, and how bliuded, 
after Jesus had told him he was about to be betrayed, and that he would 
be the betrayer, to suppose that our Lord should not see through his 
hypocritical design, in kissing him only to betray him ! And a worse sign 
he could not have given, for it only served to show his baseness in the 
strongest light. Had he struck him it would have been very bad, but to 
kiss him only to show his enemies which was he, was the height of 
wickedness ! Those who now pretend to love Christ, and yet do not faith- 
fully give themselves up to his cause, do but too much resemble Judas : 
this is like kissing Christ and betraying him. 

Moreover, Judas added, " Hail, Master ! " that is, peace be to thee, or 
health and happiness, as we sajr, " and kissed him." And all this he did 
from the love of mone}^. The poor disciples showed too, that while Jesus 
was so read}' to die for them, they were then afraid to lose their lives for 
him ; they all " forsook him and fled ! " 

Peter was always very zealous and forward in danger, and when 
Christ was taken, he did not quite like to leave him in the hands of his 
enemies without seeing what they were about to do, so he "followed him 
afar off unto the High Priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the 
servants, to see the end." 

In the meantime the priests and elders tried to get some persons to 
bear witness that Christ had said something in their hearing that was very 
wicked, and according to their law deserved death. Now none could say 
this in truth ; so they were obliged to get false witnesses — that is, pay 
some bad men to say anything they pleased, to make a reason for pro- 
nouncing sentence on him. These vile men then declared that they had 
heard Christ say, that he could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three 
days. Christ had, indeed, said something like such a thing, but he spake 
only of " the temple of his bod}' ;" that is, that when he should be put to 
death he would " rise again the third day." And he ,did not say, " I am 

23 



354 THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 

able to destroy the temple," but only, " destroy this temple," meaning, as 
I have just said, his body. 

This was, however, too trifling to affect his life ; so the High Priest 
tried if he could get Christ to say something that would suit their purpose 
better, and adjured him to tell them whether or not he was "the Son of 
God." "Thou hast said," said Jesus; that is, thou art right — "I am the" 
Sou of God." Then the High Priest rent his clothes, declared he had 
spoken blasphemy, and that there was no further need of witnesses. Had 
he not been the Son of God, he would, indeed, have spoken blasphemy ; 
but they did not know that he was so, though he had done miracles 
enough in the land to prove it, and therefore, they now seized the oppor- 
tunity of putting to death the Lord of Life and Glory. 

And now the servants and soldiers spat in his face, struck him,, 
slapped his cheeks, and having blindfolded him, asked him to tell them, 
who did it. This was horribly wicked ; and they are as horribly wicked 
who make sport with the name of Jesus, and use it triflingly or in jest; 
take care never to sport with sacred things. 

Peter was all this while sitting among the servants of the High 
Priest, when one of the maids espied him out, and accused him of being a. 
disciple; but Peter was afraid of suffering in the same way, and so denied 
it. He then left his seat and went to the porch or entrance of the High 
Priest's hall ; but there he was again discovered by another maid, and 
then he swore that he knew nothing of Christ. 

After this some more persons charged him with being one of Christ's 
followers, and they said that his dialect proved he came from the same 
part of the country. Peter again cursed and swore, probably worse than 
before, and said he knew nothing of Christ. Those that curse and swear 
show most plainly that they cannot belong to Christ, as Peter took a most 
effectual and wicked method to disguise himself. 

Jesus had warned him of this, and told him that before the cock 
should crow twice he would deny him thrice. His words now came to- 
pass; the cock crew — Peter remembered it — his heart was ready to break 
— he thought how wicked he had been, and, going away, he "wept bitterly." 
This was a sign that he sincerely repented; but no weeping bitterly can. 
ever wash away the foulness of your sins and mine ; that can only be 
done by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, which has a particular virtue in. 
healing the wounded soul, and taking away its guilt and defilement. 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 355 

Early in the morning Jesus was brought before the Council at the 
Temple, where his condemnation was signed. . The priests and elders, with, 
the soldiers, then took him to Herod's beautiful palace, in which Pilate 
was staying, sending in to ask the governor to come outside into the 
courtyard; for, were they but to enter the house of a heathen, they would 
be denied, and unable to enter the Temple on the festival Sabbath. How 
blind these rulers were, to think that walking into the house of a Roman, 
would hurt them more than the awful sin they were committing ! 

Not knowing much of the Jewish religion, Pilate did not understand? 1 
the strange accusation made against the Prisoner, and said they must: 
judge him themselves, according to their law. This the priests refused to- 
do, for the3 T feared his friends would not allow him to be stoned, and that 
they should be hated were they to order it. 

The governor, therefore, called Jesus intc his palace, and asked i£ 
he were indeed a King. Our Lord admitted that he was; but that his 
Kingdom was not of this world. '' If it were," said he, " my servants 
would fight to save me from the Jews I have come to be a witness o£ 
the truth, and whoever is of the truth, listens to me." 

Pilate knew well that the priests had only given him up from anger,, 
and cared nothing for the truth, so he said half scornfully, " What is. 
truth ? " Then, bringing out Jesus to his accusers, he said he found no> 
fault in him. At this they rose up in furious anger. Pilate must find 
him guilty, and in their excitement some of them shouted, "But he tells 
people not to pay tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is King ! " 

Turning again to the only one among the madly-excited crowd who 
was perfectly calm, and whom they were accusing of stirring up tumults, 
Pilate asked what Jesus had to say to that ; but he made no reply. He 
knew he had taught exactly the opposite — that people were to give to 
Caesar what was due to him ; but it was of no use to say so, for, as Pilate 
knew, truth was nothing to the priests. 

" I cannot say that I find any fault in him," said Pilate, much 
perplexed. 

" But you must not let him go," said the elders ; " why, he is 
always trying to unsettle the people ; he began to gather multitudes 
together in Galilee, and from there to Judaea, large crowds have hung on 
his words." " Began in Galilee," repeated Pilate ; " then is he a Gali- 
lsean ? " " Certainly," replied the priests, " He comes from Nazareth." 



356 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 



" Oh, then," said Pilate, much pleased at thus getting out of his diffi- 
culty, "it is not for me to judge him at all. Herod Antipas, king of 
Galilee, is just now in Jerusalem, take your Prisoner to him." 

How weary our 
Lord must have 
been , after his dread- 
ful night, at being 
thus hurried from 
place to place ; but 
his accusers knew 
no mercy. 

King Herod, he 
who had caused 
John the Baptist to 
be beheaded, was 
glad to see one of 
whom he had heard 
so much, and hoped 
our Lord would 
perform a miracle 
before him ; bat in 
this he was disap- 
pointed, for Christ 
worked miracles to 
relieve suffering, 
not to glorify him- 
self. The priests 
and elders felt that 
precious time was 
slipping by, for 
they wished him 
condemned and exe- 
cuted before the Sab- 
christ before pilate. bath began, at sun- 

set, though the law forbade them to put any one to death on the day of 
his condemnation. They hastened, therefore, to accuse him, as before 
Pilate, of making himself a King ; on which Herod and his soldiers began 





MINISTERING TO CHRIST'S AGONY 




JUDAS BETRAYING CHRIST WITH A KISS 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 35 4 

to laugh at Jesus, and to mock him, dressing him up in grand robes; and,, 
thus arrayed, he was sent back to Pilate. 

As the governor again took his seat in the court of judgment,, 
before the palace, a message was brought him from his wife, telling him 
to have nothing to do with condemning this good man, as she had had a 
dream about him, which had much disturbed her. Turning, therefore, to 
the priests, he told them it was impossible to pass sentence of death on 
one who had done no wrong. To please them, however, he would order 
him to be scourged; a most cruel punishment, for the whips often had 
pieces of lead or sharp bits of bone fastened in them, and these tore the 
flesh dreadfully; "but after that,'' said he, "Jesus of Nazareth must be set 
at liberty. As it is the custom, too, to release a prisoner at the Passover,, 
shall that prisoner be he ? " 

"No!" cried the crowd, urged on by the priests; "release Barabbas. " 
This Barabbas was the son of a rabbi, a robbei and murderer, who had 
often tried to raise a revolt. "What shall I do with your king, then?" 
"We have no king but Caesar," shouted these hypocrites, for they really 
hated the Roman emperor. " We have no king but Caesar, and if you let 
this man go, you are not Caesar's friend." Alarmed at the rising excite- 
ment and fury of the mob, Pilate tried to reason with them, but in vain. 
His words were drowned in their shrieks of "Crucify him! Crucify him! 
To the cross with him ! " 

Weak, cowardly Pilate felt he must quell the disturbance, at all 
costs. The priests evidently meant to have the life of their prisoner, and, 
calling for water to wash his hands, he said, " Let this water, washing all 
stains from my hands, be a sign to you that my conscience is clear from 
all share in this innocent man's blood. If you must have a victim for 
your rage, take him; but if wrong be done, let the blame be on your own 
heads, not on mine." 

Thus did Pilate, knowing our Lord to be innocent, meanly give 
him up to death, although he might easily have dispersed this mob with 
his soldiers ; but he feared to offend the Jews, lest they should complain 
to the emperor, and cause him to lose his place. " We will gladly take 
all the blame, if there be any," cried the people. " We and our children 
will answer for his blood." When the soldiers had cruelly scourged Jesus, 
they pressed a crown of sharp thorns on his brow, and putting a reed in 
his hand, as if this were the right sceptre for such a king. 



358 THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 

Our Lord's strength must by this time have been nearly spent, for 
people often died after being scourged ; and Pilate tried, for the last time, 
to move the crowd to pity, by bringing him out to them, and letting /them 
see him — now scarcely able to walk, from ill-treatment and grief. "Behold 
the man! Behold your king!" said he. But pity found no place in their 
hard hearts, and their only reply was to rend the air with shouts of " Cru- 
cify him ! Crucify him ! " 

The chief priests and elders, as you read in the last chapter, had at 
length got their way, for Christ was condemned to die the most cruel of 
deaths. Although he would suffer at the hands of Roman soldiers, the sin 
"was theirs, all the same, for had they not forced the governor, by threats, 
to take his life? But there was one among the crowd, who did not join 
in the murderous cries, whose heart sank within him at the awful words 
shouted on every hand. It was the betrayer. 

The miserable man had gone with the crowd, backwards and for- 
wards, from one court to another, and now, finding his Master was really 
to die, after having already suffered such terrible agony, he was over- 
powered with remorse and grief. No longer able to endure the thought of 
the thirty pieces of silver he had received, as the price of his blood, he 
made his way to the Temple, whither the priests had already gone, for the 
morning sacrifice, and flinging the money on the ground before them, cried 
in an agony, " What shall I do ! I have betrayed an innocent man ! " 

" That,'' they said coldly, " is your affair, and has nothing to do 
with us." The poor wretch left their presence in despair. He could not 
forgive himself his base deed, and in his self-accusing madness went out 
and hanged himself. The priests, meanwhile, not daring to put the money 
into the Temple treasury, decided to buy a field with it, to be used for 
fourying strangers. 

It was now about nine o'clock. The men having brought out the 
upper part of the cross, laid it on our Lord's shoulders, and he set forth 
on the terrible, though short, journey, to the outside of the city, for no 
one could be put to death within it. Jesus was, however, so exhausted by 
the cruel treatment he had received, that he was only able to go very 
slowly along the hilly streets, carrying such a weight. Finding, soon, that 
it was really more than he could possibly bear, the soldiers laid hold of a 
strong man passing by, a native of Cyrene, in the north of Africa, and 
made him carry it. 




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359 



360 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 



But our Lord was not surrounded by enemies only, for the news of 
his arrest and trial had, by this time, spread through the city, and though 
too late to save him, his friends among the Galilaeans would not allow him 
to go to his death unattended. The women, too, who had often supplied 
his simple wants, pressed forward, bewailing and lamenting his terrible 
sufferings. Even at such a moment Jesus could think of others, and turn- 
ing, told them not to weep for him, but for themselves and their children, 
for the misery that would come upon them, when the Romans should turn 




CHRIST LEAVING FOR GOLGOTHA.. 

upon their nation, and destroy their city. Then they would cry to the 
rocks to fall on them, and the hills to cover them, for their conquerors 
would have no mercy. 

Two thieves who had been condemned to die, were led out to be 
crucified with our Lord. At last they all reached a place named Golgotha, 
which means a skull, so called because some hollows in a hill-side near, 
gave it that appearance. The Latin name for Golgotha is Calvary. The 
highway to Jerusalem passed close to this spot, and as many people were 
coming along it, into the city, these, with the crowds who had now come 
out, must, together, have made a very large concourse of people. 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 361 

Having reached Calvary, the soldiers, according to custom, offered a. 
drink to the prisoners, which would cause them to feel less pain. But 
Jesus refused to take it, for fear it should also stupefy his mind. Having 
taken off their clothes, the soldiers placed Jesus and the thieves on the 
three crosses, as they lay on the ground, and performed the most cruel 
part of their task, that of nailing them to the wood, through their hands 
and feet. The knees were bent till the sole of the foot rested on the 
beam, and was thus nailed. 

Perhaps it was at this awful moment that the first of our Saviour's 
dying words fell from his lips. " Father," he prayed, " forgive them, for 
the} r know not what they do." With a hideous jolt the crosses were then 
put into the holes prepared for them ; the accusation of each sufferer,, 
which, written on a board, had been carried before him, being first fastened 
at the top. Strange to say, the crime laid to the charge of Jesus was that. 
he was " King of the Jews." And this was written in Hebrew, Greek and 
Latin, that all might be able to read it. 

The Roman soldiers, having now only to wait till the end came, 
sat down, and began to divide the clothes among them. They tore the 
abba, or outward garment of Jesus, into several parts ; but as his inner 
garment was woven in one piece, and would be of no use, unless whole,, 
one of them got out some dice, and he who threw the highest number,, 
took the garment. How wonderful it seems that, many centuries before, 
the Psalms, speaking of our Lord, had said, "They part my garments 
among them, and cast lots upon my vesture !" 

Having offered the usual sacrifice, the chief priests came out from 
the city, that they might glory over their victim. But when they saw the 
words, " The King of the Jews," on his cross, they were much displeased, 
and went to Pilate, telling him he ought to have written that he said he 
was King of the Jews. Pilate, however, weary of their demands, and 
perhaps angry with himself for having given in to them at all, answered 
shortly, " What I have written, I have written." 

As the morning wore on, the heat of the sun beating down on the 
forms of the sufferers, must have been terrible ; but the Jews had no 
mere}'-, and could even find it in their hearts to jeer at Christ, as he hung 
there, saying that if he could build the Temple in three days, he had 
better show his power by coming down from the cross, that they might 
believe that he was God's Son; while even the Driests and elders were not 



362 THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 

above making the sneering remark, that though he had saved others, he 
could not save himself. 

To all this our Lord made no reply. He knew that, in saving 
others, he could not save himself, for he had come to earth, had lived, and 
now died, to take away the sin of the world. Had he failed at the last, he 
would not have saved mankind. The thieves, meanwhile had not been so 
uncomplaining as our Lord ; and at last one of them shouted, that if he 
were the Christ, why did he not use his power in saving the lives of all 
three. But the other, touched by the wondrous patience of him who hung 
so near him, silenced his companion, saying that they were both suf- 
fering justly; "but this man," said he, "has done nothing amiss." 

And then the thought dawned on his soul that, perhaps, Jesus was 
indeed a King, and if so, he must have a Kingdom somewhere. It cer- 
tainly did not seem to be here ; was it possible that it lay beyond death ? 
Or had he heard him speak of his returning, after his death, to raise the 
dead, and reign as the Messiah-Prince ? For he may have been one of the 
crowd round our Lord when he spoke in this way. "Jesus," said he, 
"remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom." 

The bystanders heard the words, and those who loved our Lord 
listened breathlessly for the answer. Would he now tell them where his 
kingdom was, and how they might some day reach him ? " Verily," said 
Jesus, faintly, turning his eyes towards the thief, " to-day shalt thou be 
with me in Paradise." It was enough. His kingdom was beyond the 
grave, and they now knew that, to join him, they also must pass through 
the gates of death. The thief, too, said no more, being quite content with 
the promise given him. 

Not far from the cross stood the mother of Jesus, and some of his 
dearest friends among whom was John. Christ saw their grief, and think- 
ing what a blank his death would make for them both, told Mary that 
John must be her son now, while to the beloved disciple he gave, 
as a sacred trust, the care of her, who was dearest to him on earth. So, 
from that hour Mary was an honored guest, a second mother, in the 
home of John. 

The heat had been terrible, but now, as noon was approaching, a 
heavy darkness gradually came on ; the wind was hushed, the birds ceased 
to twitter. It was as though all nature stood still, and even the sun 
veiled his face at the dreadful work that was being done. As the awful 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 363 

hours rolled by, our Lord's sufferings increasing every moment, a horror 
seemed to overcome him, and he cried in an agonized voice, " My God, my 
God, why hast thou forsaken me ? " He used the Hebrew dialect, which 
he had spoken as a bo}^ in Nazareth. Some of those who stood by did 
not understand it, and thought the words sounded as though he were 
calling on Elijah. But one of them, seeing how much he was suffering 
from thirst, filled a sponge with some of the soldiers' drink — sour wine and 
water — and putting it on a stick, taken from a plant near, held it to 
our Lord's lips. 

The horror that had fallen upon him now passed away. He knew 
the end was approaching, and presently, with a triumphant voice, cried, 
" It is finished;" then, softly, as though speaking to one very near, he 
added, " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," and with a great 
cry that startled all who heard it, he bowed his head, and was gone. 

Pale with terror, men and women looked at each other in the dim 
light; for the earth was trembling beneath their feet, the rocks around 
seemed to reel ; and as the gloom slowly lifted, forms were seen to leave 
the cave-tombs in the hill-sides, and stealing quietly past, to vanish within 
the city, where, we are told, they " were seen of many." Even the Roman 
officer in charge of the soldiers was alarmed at what was taking place, and 
cried, " Truly this was the Son of God." 

The crowd, meanwhile, turned, and in great confusiou hastened from 
the spot. Their alarm was, however, in no way lessened, when they heard 
that at the very moment when Jesus died, and the ground was shaking, 
an invisible hand had torn the great curtain, which separated the Holy of 
Holies from the priest's court, into two pieces ; thus laying open to view 
the sacred chamber, that was only entered once a year by the High Priest. 

Did this mean that the Eternal Spirit would cease to own, as his 
dwelling-place, the temple of which the murderers of his Son were the 
servants ? Or was it that the death of Jesus for evermore opened the way 
to God, with no curtain, no priest, between him and the soul who earnestly 
seeks him? Perhaps both, for it is certain that the Holy God cannot be 
served acceptably by hypocrites — people who pretend to be what they are 
not; and it is also true that, through the death of our Lord, the "King- 
dom of Heaven is opened to all believers." 

The Sabbath was now fast approaching, and the Jews, anxious that 
the city should not be defiled on that day by the men just crucified, 



364 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 



hanging on the cross during its sacred hours, dying or dead, went to Pilate, 
asking if they might be killed at once. The governor, therefore, gave orders 
that their legs should be broken— a hideous means used for speedily kill- 
ing, by the shock of 
the blows, those who 
were long in dying 
on the cross. But 
when the soldiers 
had thus made an 
end of the thieves, 
they saw that our 
Lord was already 
dead, and did not 
break his legs. One 
of them in passing, 
however, thrust a 
spear into his side, 
from which blood 
and water flowed, 
showing that the 
cavity of the heart 
had been pierced ; a 
wound which, of it- 
self, would have been 
fatal, had he been 
still alive. 

It was the cus- 
tom to throw the 
bodies of those who 
had been put to 
death on the con- 
stantly burning fires 
in the valley of Hin- 
nom, which consumed the offal of the sacrifices ; but some of the 
friends of Jesus could not bear that his dear form should be so dis- 
honored. They dared not, however, take the body without permission ; but 
a friend, whom they might little have expected to be so loyal to the 




THE WOMEN AT THE TOMB 




B 



< 

H 
CO 

s 

U 




DORCAS GIVING ALMS 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 365 

dead Saviour, came forward in the difficulty. One of the Jewish elders, 
named Joseph, a man of Arimathea, noted as owning a large garden close 
to Jerusalem, had, like Nicodemus, believed that Jesus of Nazareth was a 
great Prophet, if not the Messiah. Though not brave enough, before, to 
own him publicly, neither had voted for his death, with the rest of the 
Council ; but this had not saved him, there being so many against them. 

Now that he had been so cruelly and wickedly put to death, how- 
ever, the}'- threw awa}^ their fear, and were not ashamed to confess their 
love for him. Hence it was that Joseph of Arimathea, though a Jewish 
elder, now entered the palace of Pilate and begged the bod)' of Jesus. 
The request was unusual, but being made by one in so high a position, 
the governor thought well not to refuse it. Perhaps, too, his conscience 
made him feel how wrongly he had acted in condemning our Lord to death, 
and he may have hoped, in some wa} r , to make lip for it, by allowing him 
honorable burial. So, after asking of the centurion, whether Jesus were 
actually dead alread}^ and hearing that he had indeed passed awa}^ he 
gave the elder permission to do as he wished with the remains. 

Joseph now immediately boiight a fine linen cloth, and, being joined 
by Nicodemus, who, with his servants, was bringing one hundred pounds 
weight of spices, to embalm the body, returned to the cross, near which 
the women were waiting. Taking our Lord carefully down from the 
dreadful instrument of death, these loving friends washed the stains 
from the wounds, and then wrapped the body in the linen cloth, putting 
withit the valuable spices given by Nicodemus. This done, they carried their 
precious burden to the sepulchre in Joseph's garden, that had been made 
for himself, and laid it reverently in it. 

Meanwhile, the Jewish priests had not forgotten that Jesus had said, 
how, after three days, he should rise again. So, fearing that perhaps his 
disciples might come by night, and, after stealing his body, declare he had 
really risen from the dead — a result which would give his name more 
power among the people than ever — they resolved to prevent this by get- 
ting Pilate to set a guard of soldiers before the tomb. 

Having, therefore, got leave from Pilate to make it as secure as 
possible, they passed a cord across the stone, and sealed it to the rock at 
each side, with clay, so that no one could enter without its being known; 
and saw that the guard was duly stationed close by. 

And thus the Sabbath quietly passed away in Joseph's garden. But 



366 THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 

before the dawn of the third morning, the guard were startled by a sudden 
earthquake, amidst which au angel, in dazzling white garments, descended 
from heaven, and having rolled away the stone, the Lord came forth, from 
the tomb, victorious over death and the grave. 

The soldiers fled in terror. But they had scarcely left the garden, 
when it was entered by two of the women, coming to finish the task of 
embalming the body, so hurriedly performed on Friday. They did not 
seem to have known that the stone was sealed to prevent its removal, but 
they wondered, as they went on, who could be got to roll it away, for it 
was very heavy. When they reached the spot, however, they found that 
it was, alread}^, rolled away. 

In great surprise they entered the cave, when, in the dim light of 
the earl)'- dawn, they perceived first one, and then another, human form, 
as if of young men, both arrayed in white robes. Speechless with alarm, 
they could only notice that the stony hollow in which the body of their 
Lord had lain, w T as empty. ''Be not amazed," said one of the angels, "for 
I know that ye seek Jesus, who has been crucified; he is not here, for he 
is risen ; behold the place where they laid him." 

The elders were at once assembled to consult how best they could 
hush up this story, and decided that they would bribe the soldiers to say 
that the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus while they were asleep, 
though they knew that Roman soldiers dared not sleep on their watch. 
But the elders promised to keep Pilate from harming them, if he should 
hear of it. Thus won over, the soldiers did as they were told, scarcely 
thinking, perhaps, how very foolish the whole story was ; for, if they had 
been asleep, how could they have seen the disciples fetch the body away? 
And if they did see them, why had they not stopped them ? 

On the afternoon of this ever-memorable day, two of the followers 
of Jesus, one of whom was named Cleopas, left Jerusalem for a village 
called Emmaus, about seven miles distant. Their hearts were very sad, 
for they had firmly believed that Jesus would be the Saviour of Israel, and 
now that he was taken from them, all hope seemed lost. Passover week 
had no longer any attraction for them, and they felt that the quiet of their 
country home would better suit their sad spirits. Presently, a companion 
joined them, and seeing how grave they looked, asked what they were 
talking about. 

"Is it possible," said Cleopas, "that you can be staying in Jerusalem 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 



367 



and do not know the things that have happened siuee Friday?" "What 
things?" said the stranger. 

"Why, the things about Jesus of Nazareth," replied they, "that 
great Prophet, mighty in word and deed. Have you not heard how the 
chief priests and elders took him, and crucified him, three days ago? But 
the great wonder is, that this morning, when some of the women of our 
companjr went to his tomb, they found him no longer there; but angels 




WHILE THEY COMMUNED TOGETHER JESUS HIMSELF DREW NEAR, 
were sitting by the place where he had lain. Soon after some of his dis- 
ciples went, and found that the women had spoken the truth; but they 
did not see the Master anywhere. It is very sad, for we had so firmly 
believed him to be the Messiah." 

"If you did } t ou were right," said the stranger, "for Avas it not 
foretold ages ago that the Christ should suffer this very death, and should 
then enter into his glory ? All this was prophesied by holy men of old." 
He then went on to explain the Scriptures to them so clearly that their 



368 THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 

hearts were quite comforted; for they now saw that every word written of 
the Messiah, long before, had come true in the life and death of Jesus Christ. 

Towards dusk they entered the village of Emmaus, and the c[isci- 
ples begged their new friend to come in and lodge with them ; and, though 
he seemed as if he had prepared to have gone farther, he accepted the 
invitation to rest with them, and share in their simple evening meal. But 
now, when they were at table, the guest took up one of the small loaves 
and, having given thanks, broke it, and passed it to the two disciples. 
The familiar words of blessing, and the well-known gesture in handing the 
bread, instantly opened their eyes, and made them sure that the com- 
panion who had walked so many miles with them, was none other than 
the Lord himself. But at this very moment, he vanished from their sight. 

The disciples had not forgotten that they had been told by the 
angels to return to Galilee, where our Lord would come to them. They, 
therefore, went back to their own district in the north, and resumed their 
old occupation of fishing on the lake. One night, however, having caught 
nothing, and being wearied with the fruitless toil, they were making for 
the land at break of day, when they perceived some One standing on the 
beach. It was Jesus ; but they did not at first know him : some change, 
peculiar, perhaps, to his risen body, making instant recognition difficult. 
But he soon revealed himself. 

" Children," said he, " have you anything to eat?" They answered, 
u No." " If you cast the net on the right side of the boat," he said, " you 
will find something;" and when they swept their net round, lo ! it enclosed 
such a number of fish, that it was like to break. " It is the Lord," 
whispered John to Peter, " it must be ;" and the next instant Simon, 
always lovingly eager, leaped into the water, and swam to the shore to 
greet him, while the others slowly brought in the boat, dragging the heavy 
net after them. 

Several times after this our Lord appeared to his loved ones ; once, 
to as many as five hundred of those who had formerly listened to him. 
His last commands were, that the disciples, or apostles, as they were called, 
should go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and that 
when thus admitted to his Church, they were to be taught to do all the 
things he had urged on his followers, as the only way of really inheriting 
his kingdom. The disciples who had, for so long, listened to his divine 



THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION. 



369 



teaching, and witnessed his perfect life, could not fail to know what 
these things were. 

And 3'ou too, children, if you have carefully listened to the story, 
which has now come to 
an end, understand, I am 
sure, that to belong to 
Christ means to be like 
Christ ; that if you wish 
to show that } t ou love 
him, you must do as he 
said. And thus , conquer- 
ing self-will, bad temper, 
and all that is unlovely, 
and becoming daily more 
unselfish and good, you 
will grow more and more 
like him, and be, as he 
said of the disciples, 
"one with him, as the 
branch is one with the 
vine." And then, trust- 
ing in the mercy of God 
and the forgiveness of 
sins for our Saviour's 
sake ; having spent a life 
in his service here, you 
will one day meet him 
in his heavenly king- 
dom ; for he said, " Where 
I am, there shall my 
servants be." 

The last we hear 
of our Lord's life on 
earth, was, that once Christ's ascension. 

more ascending the Mount of Olives with his dear ones, he raised his hands 
in blessing, and so was parted from them, and carried up to heaven. As the 
group still looked upward, two shining ones appeared beside them, and 
24 




370 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

asked why they were gazing into heaven, telling them that Jesus who 
had just left them, would, one day, come again in the same manner as 
they had seen him go. 

So the disciples went down the slope of Olivet, henceforth to be 
sacred ground to all who love the Master, and returned to Jerusalem with, 
great joy; for they knew he was only gone for a little while, and would 
soon come again to take them to himself. And, indeed, they scarcely felt 
they had lost him, even for a time ; for his touch yet lingered in their 
hands, his love filled their hearts, and his last words were still sounding 
in their ears, " Lo ! I am with you a/way, even unto the end of the world" 

" Farewell in hope, and love, 

In faith and peace, and prayer ; 
Till he, whose home is ours above, 

Unite us there." 

THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

AFTER Jesus had ascended into heaven, the disciples all returned to 
Jerusalem, to wait there for "the promise of the Father," as Jesus 
had told them. They used to meet together in an upper room, 
with. Mary the mother of Jesus, and the other women, and many more 
who believed; and they spent their time in prayer and praise. 

One day, when about a hundred and twenty of this happy company 
were gathered together, Peter stood up and spoke to them. He reminded 
them, that one of the twelve apostles was parted from them for ever — the 
wicked Judas; and then he said, "Let us now choose from among the dis- 
ciples another man to take the place of Judas, and to be witness with us 
of the resurrection of Jesus." The disciples were all willing to do this ; 
and they soon chose out two men, Joseph called Barsabas, and Matthias. 
But the}^ would not themselves determine which of these two should be 
the apostle. They prayed to God, and asked him to choose for them. 
They said, " thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all, show which of 
these two Thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and 
apostleship." Then they cast lots ; and God made the lot fall upon Mat- 
thias ; and he was numbered with the twelve apostles. 

It was very right of the apostles to ask God to direct them in what 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 371 

they did. This is what we should always do, when we have any business 
or duty to perform. We are so ignorant, that we know not of ourselves 
what to do, nor how to do it aright ; but if we ask God, he will give us 
holy wisdom to teach and direct us. St. James says, " If any of you lack 
wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraid- 
eth not, and it shall be given him." 

Ten da}-s after the ascension, was the feast of Pentecost. God com- 
manded the Israelites to keep it, when he gave them the land of Canaan, 
so many years ago. It was kept in remembrance of the law being given on 
Mount Sinai, fifty days after the children of Israel came out of Egypt. It 
was called, too, the feast of weeks, because it was seven weeks after the Passover. 

A great many Jews were now gathered together at Jerusalem, to 
keep the feast of Pentecost. And many people of other nations were there 
too. These were Gentiles who had learnt to believe in the God of Israel, 
and to obey his laws. They were called proselytes. All these people 
assembled in one place, on the day of the feast. As they were sitting 
together, they suddenly heard a sound from heaven, like a rushing mighty 
wind, and it filled all the house in which they were. And there appeared 
to them tongues of fire, which came and rested upon every one of them ; 
and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and were enabled, by his 
power, to speak with " other tongues," in new languages which they had 
never heard before. 

How very wonderful this was ! Jesus was now fulfilling his prom- 
ise ; he was sending to them that Spirit whom he had told them before he 
would send. We know how hard it is to learn a new language. We 
stud}^ it, perhaps, maiw months or years before we quite understand it, 
and can speak it. But the disciples, at the feast of Pentecost, had no 
need to learn the different languages which they then began to speak. In 
one moment, they knew them perfectly. And why was this ? Why did 
God give such wonderful power to his disciples at that time? Because- 
God wished his gospel to be then made known in many parts of the 
world, and to nations who had never heard it before. Many people from 
those nations were in Jerusalem at this very time; but they all spoke lan- 
guages quite different from the language which the disciples spoke. So 
God sent the Holy Ghost to give the disciples this miraculous power of 
speaking different tongues, that they might be able to make known at 
once, to all the strangers in Jerusalem, " the wonderful works of God." 



372 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

All those people who came from other countries and heard the dis- 
ciples speak in their own languages, were very much surprised. They 
said, " How is this ? Are not these men Galileans ? How is it they can 
speak to us in our own tongues ? " But the Jews who did not understand 
the different languages spoken by the apostles, mocked, and said, "These 
men are full of new Mane." But Peter stood up in the midst, and said, 
" Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, these wonderful 
things, which you now hear and see, are only the fulfilment of what God's 
prophet Joel foretold many years ago. He said that God would, in the 
last days, pour out his Spirit upon his servants, and teach them to 
prophesy. And so it is. And now hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth 
came among you, and worked miracles, as you know. He was taken hy 
wicked men, and crucified, and slain. But God raised him up ; and we 
are witnesses of his resurrection, and say to yom, that he is the Son of 
God, the true Messiah. And now he is ascended up to heaven ; and it is 
he who has sent the Holy Ghost upon us, and given us this wonderful 
power of speaking which you have heard to-day." 

Were the people willing to attend to Peter, and to believe what he 
said ? Yes ; they were so much struck with his words, that they cried 
out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter answered, "Repent, 
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the 
remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Then 
those who believed were baptized, as Christ had commanded. They were 
about three thousand. 

God is not now pleased to give his people that wonderful power of 
speaking different tongues, and of working miracles, which he gave to the 
disciples on the day of Pentecost. Those gifts were very useful and neces- 
sary at that time, to enable the disciples to preach the gospel to many 
nations at once, and to make the people believe that what they preached 
was really true. But this is not so necessary now ; for the Bible is printed 
in almost every language in the world, and people may read it for them- 
selves ; and many missionaries go out to teach it. But God does still give 
the Holy Spirit to all who ask him, to renew and sanctify their hearts, to 
teach and comfort them, and to make them meet for heaven. Let us pray, 
then, for this good gift, and say, " Lord, for Christ's sake, give us the 
Holy Spirit." 

One day, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. A poor lame 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 373 

man lay at the Beautiful Gate of the temple begging. He had been lame 
all his life, and could do nothiug for himself; so every day he was carried 
to the gate, and there he lay, asking money from those who went into the 
temple. When he saw Peter and John, he began to beg something from, 
them ; but the}?- were poor men, and had no money to give. What did. 
they do ? Did they pass on, and take no notice of the poor lame man ? 
No ; Peter and John had learned from their Master, Jesus Christ, to be 
kind and pitiful, and to go about, as he did, " doing good." 

So they spoke to the beggar, and said, " Look on us." The poor 
man did so direct^, hoping to receive some money from them. But Peter 
said, " Silver and gold have I none ; but what I have, give I thee ; in the 
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." Then Peter took 
him b}^ the right hand, and lifted him up ; and immediately his feet 
became strong, and he stood up, and walked, and went into the temple 
with Peter and John, leaping and praising God. 

All the people who saw this were very much astonished, and they 
ran to the disciples, greatly wondering. Then Peter said, " Why do you 
wonder at this ? Do 3 r ou think that it is our power which has cured this 
lame man? No, it is not our power; it is the power of Jesus which has 
cured him ; that same Jesus whom you denied and crucified. God raised 
him from the dead ; we are witnesses of this ; and his name, through faith 
in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. And 
now repent, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ ; for God sent him to 
bless } 7 ou, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." 

As Peter was speaking, the priests, and the ruler of the temple, and 
the Sadducees came to them. These wicked men would not believe them- 
selves, and they wished to prevent the people from believing, if they could. 
So they laid hold of the two disciples, and shut them up in prison. But 
God blessed what Peter had said ; and many more of the people believed. 

The next da}', the rulers, and scribes, and priests, all came to. 
gether; and they brought out Peter and John, and made them stand before 
them, and asked, "Tell us now, by what power have you cured this lame 
man ? " Then Peter, being full of the Holy Ghost, spoke boldly, and said^ 
" It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, that the man has been 
made whole ; that same Jesus whom God raised from the dead ; and we tell 
you plainly that there is salvation only in him ; for there is no other 
name under heaven given among men, by which we can be saved." Then 



374 THE STORY OF THE APOSTEES. 

the priests and rulers wondered very much at the boldness of Peter and 
John ; for they saw that they were ignorant and unlearned men ; and 
" they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." 

The priests and rulers wanted very much to punish Peter and John ; 
but they could not at that time ; for the man who had been healed was 
standing b}^, and all the people saw him, and believed in the miracle, and 
even the wicked priests themselves could not deny it ; so they called the 
•disciples again, and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach, in 
the name of Jesus, and then let them go. And did the disciples promise 
to obey the command ? No ; they would make no such promise. They 
said, " It is not right to attend to you more than to God. We must speak 
the things which we have seen and heard." Then their enemies threatened 
to punish them if they did so ; but the disciples put their trust in God, 
and asked him to give them strength, to preach the gospel without fear. 
And God heard their prayer, and filled them with holy boldness, and 
blessed their words to ver}^ many of tne people. 

We should learn, from these apostles, the duty of holy boldness for 
the sake of Christ. We are commanded in the Bible to be subject to "the 
higher powers," and this command we must remember and obey. But 
then, it may sometimes happen that earthly rulers order things which are 
contrary to God's word; just as those priests and rulers did of whom we 
have been reading ; and just as, you remember, king Darius did, when he 
commanded the people not to pray for thirty days. And what would it be 
our duty to do then? We must, as the apostles did, and as Daniel did, 
obey God rather than man. But when we do this, we must do it in a 
spirit of love, and gentleness, and humility; because we wish to obey God, 
not because we wish to resist the lawful authority of man. And we must 
never forget to love even our enemies, to bless them that curse us, and to 
pray for them who despitefully use us, and persecute us. 

The apostles now went about preaching the gospel, and healing the 
sick, in the name and by the power of Jesus. When their enemies saw 
that they had not attended to the command given them, they became very 
angry again, and laid hold of the apostles, and put them into prison. But 
these wicked men were not able to hurt the apostles at that time ; for God 
sent an angel by night to open the prison door, and bring out his servants. 
And then God commanded them, by his angel, to go into the temple, and 
preach the gospel again to the people there. 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 373 

The next morning, the priests, not knowing what was done, sent to 
the prison to bring out the apostles. The messengers soon returned in 
great wonder, and said, " We found the prison safely shut, and the keepers 
standing before the doors ; but when we went in, we saw no man. The 
prisoners were gone." Then the priests began to wonder how this could 
be. But soon some one came in, and said, " We have seen these men 
whom ye put in prison. They are now standing quietly in the temple, 
teaching the people." Then the ruler of the temple, and the officers, went 
and brought out the apostles. 

When they came in, the priest spoke very harshly to them, and 
said, " Did we not command 3 t ou to teach no more in the name of Jesus ? 
yet ye have disobeyed our command, and preached to all the people in 
Jerusalem." Then the apostles answered, " We ought to obey God more 
than man. God raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, and hanged upon the 
cross. He raised him to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance 
and remission of sins. And we are his witnesses ; for we have seen all 
these things, and we must tell them to the people, because God has com- 
manded us so to do." Then those that heard what the apostles said, grew 
very angry, and wished to kill them. But there was a Pharisee in the 
council, named Gamaliel, a learned man, who was honored very much 
among the people. 

Gamaliel hated the apostles, and the gospel they preached, as much 
as the priests and Sadducees did; but he was wiser and calmer than they. 
So he commanded that the apostles should be put out for a little time, 
and then he said, " Ye men of Israel, take care what you do to these men. 
I advise you to be quiet, and to let them alone. If what they preach be 
false, it will soon come to nothing; and then we need not trouble ourselves 
about it. But if it be true, if it be of God, it must prosper, and we cannot 
overthrow it. If we try to do so, we shall only be found to fight against 
God." All the council were pleased with what Gamaliel said. So they 
called back the apostles, and beat them, and commanded them not to speak 
in the name of Jesus, and then let them go. 

The apostles bore this cruelty with patience ; for they remembered 
the holy lessons which Jesus had given them about loving their enemies ; 
and his example too, when he suffered so meekly before Pilate and Herod. 
They even rejoiced that they were allowed to suffer shame for their Saviour's 
sake. So they went away; and taught and preached Jesus Christ daily, in 



376 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

the temple, and from house to house. This is another example for us of 
holy boldness, and patience, and diligence in doing God's work. We should 
imitate the apostles, as far as we can, in all these Christian graces, and be 
thankful that we live in a time when people may hear and speak of Jesus 
without fear of persecution such as these holy men had to endure. 

In those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, the 
apostles had much to do, not only in preaching the gospel, but in other 
things also. At last they found all this work too much for them ; they 
had not time and strength for it. So they called the disciples, and told 
them to choose from among themselves seven wise and holy men, who 
might help them in small things ; and then the apostles said, " We will 
give ourselves to prayer, and the ministry of the word." This saying 
pleased all the disciples ; they were willing to help the apostles, and thus 
to give them more time for prayer and preaching ; so they chose out seven 
faithful and holy men. 

The names of these men were Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, 
Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas. Then they brought them to the apostles, 
who prayed, and laid their hands upon them, and set them apart for the 
service of God. These seven men were called deacons. Their business was 
to attend particularly to the poor widows ; and also to collect money, and 
distribute it to those who were in need. 

God still blessed his word more and more ; and a great number,, 
even of the priests, "became obedient to the faith." At last, some other 
enemies began to trouble the servants of God. Whenever God's people 
are busy in making known the gospel, Satan is busy too among his 
servants, stirring them up to resist the truth, and fight against it; and 
so it was now. 

These wicked men were very angry with Stephen, one of the seven 
deacons, for he was full of faith and power, and did great wonders and 
miracles among the people. So they falsely accused him of speaking 
against Moses and against God ; and then they caught him, and brought 
him before the council, and said, " We have heard him say that Jesus 
of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which 
Moses delivered to us." 

All this time Stephen stood calmly before his enemies. He looked 
so holy and so gentle, that those who gazed at him saw his face " as it 
had been the face of an angel." 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 377 

At last the high priest spoke to Stephen, and asked, " Are these 
things so?" Then Stephen began to defend himself, but he did this very 
wisely and gently. First, he reminded his enemies of their own past 
history. He told them of Abraham, — of God's command to him to go into 
the land of Canaan, and of Abraham's faith and obedience. Then he spoke 
of the sufferings of the people of Israel in Egypt, for four hundred years, 
as God had said, and of their deliverance by Moses. He reminded them 
of all the wonders God did for his people in the Red Sea, and in the 
wilderness, by the hand of Moses. 

Stephen was accused of speaking against Moses ; but he showed, in 
his defence, that this accusation was untrue, and that he loved and honored 
him very much as God's faithful servant. Then Stephen told them that 
Moses himself had prophesied of Christ, of that Saviour whom they rejected. 
The prophecy was this : " The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a 
prophet from the midst of thee, like unto me ; unto him ye shall hearken. n 
This prophet was the Lord Jesus Christ himself. 

Then Stephen spoke of the disobedience of the Israelites, and of the 
punishments with which they were threatened. And he told them of the 
tabernacle which was built for God's service in the wilderness, and of the 
temple which was afterwards built at Jerusalem by king Solomon. But 
Stephen said, " The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 
as saith the prophet, 'Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: 
what house will ye build me ? saith the Lord ; or what is the place of my 
rest ? Hath not my hand made all these things ? ' " 

Stephen had now answered the false accusations of his enemies. He 
had shown them that he did not speak against Moses and against God; 
but that he loved and feared God, and honored Moses his servant. He 
had told them about the tabernacle in the wilderness, and about the temple 
at Jerusalem ; and perhaps he wished now to explain to them how the 
services of the tabernacle and the temple, the sacrifices and the ceremonies 
were done away in Christ, the Prophet of whom Moses had spoken. And 
then he would have warned them of the destruction which must come upon 
them if they rejected that Prophet ; and this would have explained the 
meaning of the words he was accused of saying : — " Jesus shall destroy 
this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us." 

But the enemies of Stephen were beginning to be impatient, so he 
hastened to the end of his speech. He wished to make them feel their 



378 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

great wickedness, and lie spoke to them very solemnly indeed. He said, 
"Your fathers persecuted the prophets who foretold the coming of Christ; 
and you have betrayed and murdered that Just One." When they heard 
this, they grew very angry, and gnashed on Stephen with their teeth. But 
he was still calm and gentle ; and being full of the Holy Ghost, he looked 
up to heaven, and saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God. That 
Jesus who had himself suffered so much, was now looking down in love 
upon his faithful servant, to comfort him in his sufferings. 

Then Stephen said, " I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man 
standing on the right hand of God." But his enemies would not attend 
to what he said. They cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, 
and ran upon him, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him. Then 
Stephen called upon God, and said, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And 
he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, "Lord! lay not this sin to 
their charge." And when he had said this, " he fell asleep." 

So Stephen died; but the Bible does not say he "died;" it only 
says he " fell, asleep." His death was so happy, so peaceful, that it was 
not like death ; it was like calm and quiet sleep. Yet Stephen died in 
great pain. What could make him forget the pain, and " fall asleep " so 
peacefully ? The sight of his Saviour standing at God's right hand to take 
him up to heaven. That sight was so bright and glorious that it made 
Stephen forget all the pain of his cruel death, and all the rage of his 
wicked murderers. And Stephen's heart was so full of holy love, that he 
could pray for his enemies, even when they were throwing stones upon 
him to kill him. He remembered the example of his Saviour who, when 
on the cross, cried, " Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." 

Stephen is called the first martyr. He was the first who suffered 
death for the sake of Christ. There have been many martyrs since 
Stephen died. First, the apostles ; then the early Christians ; and very 
many more in after times. There have been martyrs even in Christian 
countries. Good men and women have been persecuted unto prison and 
death, because they would not conform to the errors and delusions of 
bigoted, cruel men, and tyrannical rulers. And where are all these holy 
martyrs now? They are happy with Jesus, and will be so for ever. 
"They have come out of great tribulation," and now they are "before the 
throne of God," and he " shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." 

We should be thankful that we do not live in a time when people 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 379 

are put to death for believing the truth, and for serving the Lord Jesus 
Christ. But we ought to pray, too, for the spirit of these holy martyrs ; 
for if ever we should be called upon to suffer for the sake of Christ, we 
may be enabled to do so with their faith, and love, and boldness; remem- 
bering that if we thus suffer with Christ, " we shall also reign with him." 

The apostles now returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in 
many villages of the Samaritans. Then an angel of the Lord came to 
Philip, and said, " Arise, and go to the south, unto the way that goeth 
from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desert.'' 

Why was Philip to go there ? What could he do in a desert where 
no people were living ? Philip did not know ; but as soon as the command 
was given him, he obeyed, without asking " why." Philip knew that God 
was wiser than he; and that every command of God is right and good; 
so he obeyed in faith. God had a very particular reason for sending Philip 
to the desert just at this time ; we shall soon see what it was. 

There was a country called Ethiopia, south of Egypt, and a queen ruled 
over it called Candace. Candace had a eunuch, or officer, who took care of all 
her treasures, and was ver}' useful to her in her kingdom. This man was 
a Jewish prosefyte ; that is, he had learnt to believe in the God of Israel, 
and to attend to the law of Moses. So this eunuch used to go sometimes 
to worship, and keep the feasts at Jerusalem. It happened that he had been 
to Jerusalem a little time before ; and now he was returning to Ethiopia 
across the desert, just when Philip was sent there. The eunuch was 
travelling in his chariot, and as he rode along, he was not idle ; he had 
a book with him which he was reading very attentively. Perhaps he was 
reading it aloud to his friends and servants who were travelling with him. 
What book was he reading? The best book that any one can read — the 
Holy Scriptures. 

Then the Spirit of God said to Philip, " Go and join thyself to the 
chariot. So Philip ran directly to the chariot ; and when he came nearer he 
heard the words which the eunuch was reading, and spoke to him, and 
asked, " Understandest thou what thou readest?" The eunuch answered, 
" How can I, except some man should teach me ? " And then he asked 
Philip to come and sit with him in the chariot, and explain what he was 
reading. So Philip did as the eunuch wished. 

The place of the Scripture which he read was this : " He was led 
as a sheep to the slaughter ; and like a lamb dumb before the shearer, so 



380 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

opened he not his mouth." These words were written by Isaiah many 
years before. They were a prophecy of Jesus Christ ; but the eunuch did 
not know this ; so he said to Philip, " I pray thee, of whom did the 
prophet speak this ? of himself, or of some other man ? " Then Philip 
began at that very text, and preached unto him Jesus. He told him that 
these words were spoken of the " Lamb of God which taketh away the sin 
of the world," of the Lord Jesus Christ who was slain for us, and whose 
blood " cleanseth from all sin." 

The eunuch liked to hear Philip talk ; and Philip was willing to 
answer his questions, and explain his difficulties. And God blessed what 
Philip said, and the eunuch believed in Jesus Christ as the true Messiah, 
the Saviour of sinners. At last they came to some water. Then the 
eunuch said to Philip, "See, here is water; may I be baptized?" For 
the eunuch wished to obey the command of that Saviour in whom he now 
believed. Philip answered, " If thou believest with all thine heart, thou 
mayest." The eunuch said, " I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of 
God." And no doubt the confession came from his heart, and not from 
his lips only ; for this eunuch was a true believer, and not a mere pro- 
fessor like Simon the sorcerer. 

Then the chariot was stopped ; and they both went down into the 
water, and Philip baptized the eunuch. But as soon as they came out of 
the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, in a wonderful way, 
which we cannot understand, and brought him to a place many miles off, 
where there was more holy work for Philip to do. 

But what became of the eunuch after Philip was gone ? He went 
on his way rejoicing. He had much to make him rejoice. Pie had learnt 
to believe in Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save sinners; and 
he had a good hope that, when he died, he should go to that Saviour, and 
be with him for ever. He and Philip never met again on earth, but they 
have long ago met in heaven ; and Philip knows now why he was sent 
so far off to the desert, and rejoices that he obeyed the command. 

And what may we learn from this story? We may learn the duty 
and blessing of searching the Scriptures, and of seeking and praying to 
understand them. It was when the eunuch was diligently studying Isaiah, 
the prophet, that Philip was sent to " preach unto him Jesus." And 
Christ says to us, " Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have 
eternal life, and they testify of me." But, like the eunuch, we cannot 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 381 

always understand what we read, without some one to teach us. How 
thankful we ought to be, then, for wise and holy ministers of God's word, 
who are willing and able to explain it ! 

But we must remember, that the teaching of man alone will do us 
no real good. We should pray to be taught of the Spirit. He is the best 
teacher ; and we must ask him " to take of the things of Christ, and show 
them unto us." Then we shall rightty understand the Scriptures, not 
only with our heads, but with our hearts ; and find them able to make 
us " wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus." 

We are now going to read a very wonderful story about the cruel 
persecutor, Saul, who had driven away so many Christians from Jerusalem. 
Saul was a Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was born at Tarsus in 
Cilicia, and brought up in Jerusalem by Gamaliel, the learned Jew of 
whom we have heard before. Saul was very learned, like his master; and 
like him, too, he was a Pharisee, and very particular in keeping the law 
of Moses. And because of all this, Saul thought himself very righteous 
and good; too good to need a Saviour; for he did not then know the sin- 
fulness of his own heart, nor feel the truth of the text which says, "There 
is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not." 

So when Saul first heard of Jesus of Nazareth, instead of believing 
on him as the true Messiah, he despised, and rejected, and hated him. 
And when some of the people began to believe the Gospel, Saul hated and 
persecuted them, because they loved Christ. He even thought it was his 
duty to do this, and to try to prevent them from believing in the Lord 
Jesus. How ignorant Saul was then ! And so are all who have not been 
taught, by the Holy Spirit, to feel themselves sinners, and to go to Christ 
for salvation. After persecuting the Christians in Jerusalem, Saul deter- 
mined to persecute them in other cities also. So he went to the high 
priest, and asked for letters to the rulers of the synagogues in Damascus, 
giving him leave, if he found there any disciples of the Lord, to bring 
them bound to Jerusalem. Then the high priest gave him letters, and 
Saul set off to Damascus. 

But as he journeyed, and came near to Damascus, there suddenly 
shone round about him a light from heaven; and he fell to the ground, 
and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" 
Then Saul cried, " Who art thou, Lord ? " And the voice said again, " I 
am Jesus, whom thou persecutest." It was the same Jesus whom Saul 



382 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

had despised, and whose disciples he had persecuted, who was now calling 
to him. But why did Jesus say that Saul persecuted him f Because Jesus 
regards his people as himself. He says, He that toucheth them " toucheth 
the apple of his e} r e." 

But Saul did not despise Jesus now. The voice came with power 
to his heart, and conquered and subdued it ; and Saul cried humbly, as he 
had never done before, " Lord ! what wilt thou have me to do ? " The 
Lord answered, " Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee 
what thou must do." Then Saul arose; but he. was not able to see, for 
the bright light had taken away his sight; so those who were with him 
led him by the hand, and brought him to Damascus. 

Saul was three days at Damascus, without eating or drinking ; and 
he was blind, too, all that time. Yet all was sent in mercy to Saul, to 
bring him to repentance. As he sat alone, blind and unhappy, he thought 
of his past life ; and he felt for the first time, that he was a sinner before 
God ; and then he began to pray for pardon. And did God hear his 
prayer ? Yes ; God had been looking upon Saul all this time ; and as 
soon as Saul began really to pray, God heard and answered him. 

There was a disciple living at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord 
appeared to this good man in a vision, and said, " Ananias, arise, and go 
into the street called Straight, and ask in the house of Judas, for a man 
named Saul of Tarsus ; for, behold, he prayeth. And he has seen thee, in 
a vision, coining in, and putting thine hand upon him, that he may 
receive sight." But Ananias answered, " Lord, I have heard of this man 
before, and how much evil he has done to thy disciples in Jerusalem. 
And now he is come here with power from the priests, to bind all those 
who call upon thy name." Ananias did not believe, at first, that this 
Saul could be really humble and penitent ; and perhaps he felt afraid to 
go to him. 

But God taught Ananias that he had power to soften the hardest 
heart : he said, " Go thy way ; for I have chosen Saul to preach my 
Gospel to the Gentiles, and to kings, and to the children of Israel ; and 
he shall suffer many things for my name's sake." Then Ananias obeyed 
directly. He went into the street called Straight, and to the house of 
Judas, and there he asked for Saul of Tarsus. Then Ananias went into 
the room where Saul was, and laid his hands upon him, and said, " Brother 
Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to thee in the way, has sent me that 




SJ.G uvej. la. L 



ANANIAS RESTORING PAUL'S SIGHT. 



F£orqo\$, &a 
383 



384 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

thou mayest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." And 
immediately he received sight, and arose, and was baptized. Then he ate 
some meat and was strengthened ; and he stayed with the disciples in 
Damascus, and preached Christ in the synagogues. 

What wonderful power and mercy God showed in thus turning the 
heart of Saul of Tarsus ! And God is still able and willing to soften the 
hardest hearts, and to pardon the greatest sinners who come to him as 
Saul did, when God said of him, " Behold, he prayeth." Saul had often 
said prayers, as the Pharisees did, with his lips, " to be seen of men ;" but 
he had never before prayed with his heart to God in secret ; and therefore 
his prayers had never before been heard nor answered. Do you wish to be 
pardoned as Saul was ? Then you must come to God as he did, when he 
was lying blind at Damascus, and as the poor publican did in the parable 
and say, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" 

About this time, Barnabas went to Tarsus, to seek for Saul ; and 
when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. Saul and Barnabas 
stayed together at Antioch a whole year. They preached the gospel there, 
u and many believed and turned unto the Lord." 

" The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." This was 
a new name then given to them ; what did it mean ? The word Christian 
means a follower of Christ ; one who professes to be his servant, and to 
own him for a Master. We who live in this country are called Christians. 
We profess to belong to his Church, his people, his family. But many 
people profess to be Christians, and are not really Christians. A real 
Christian loves the Saviour more than anything in the world ; believes in 
him with all his heart, and tries to please and honor him in all he says 
and does. Those people, then, cannot be true Christians, who love the 
world, and its follies, and vanities, and sins. They cannot be true Chris- 
tians if they try to please themselves more than to please Christ, and if 
they seek their own honor more than his. It is a very awful thing to 
profess to belong to Christ, and yet in heart to be " none of his." At the 
day of judgment Jesus will say to all such people, "I never knew you; 
depart from me, ye that work iniquity." 

The early Christians at Antioch were really sincere ; they truly 
loved Jesus, and showed their love by their kindness to their poor brethren. 
■" The disciples determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in 
Judea; which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 385 

Barnabas and Saul." This was a good way of showing their love to Jesus, 
for he himself had said, " By this shall all men know that ye are my 
disciples, if ye have love one to another." 

Christ had told his disciples that they would have much to suffer 
for his sake ; and now trouble and persecution had begun. About this 
time, Herod, king of Judea, grandson of the wicked Herod who killed the 
children at Bethlehem, stretched forth his hand to vex certain of the 
church. And he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. And 
because he saw that it pleased the Jews he determined to take Peter also. 
Peter was now at Jerusalem ; so Herod sent, and took him, and put him 
into prison, and commanded a number of soldiers to keep him safely. 
Herod did not wish to put him to death directly ; but he determined after 
Baster to bring him out to the people, to be judged. 

It was a sad time for the other disciples when Peter was in prison. 
They all loved him very much, and could not bear to be parted from him. 
And then they thought, perhaps, that they should never have him with 
them again. They had lost James ; he had been cruelly killed ; and they 
well knew that their enemies would kill Peter too, if they could. So they all 
felt very, ver}^ sad. Could they do nothing for him ? Yes ; there was one 
thing they could do. They could not take him out of prison, they could not 
save him from Herod's power, but they could pray for him, and so they did. 

" Prayer was made without ceasing, of the church, unto God for 
him." This teaches us something. We may lose our friends ; they may 
go far away from us ; they may be in pain, and suffering, and trouble, 
and we may not be able to help and comfort them. But then we can pray 
for them. God can help them, though we cannot ; and if he sees right, 
he will answer our prayers for them, as he did the prayers of the dis- 
ciples for Peter. 

One night, the night before Peter was to be brought out, he was 
sleeping in the prison, between two soldiers ; he was bound with two 
chains, and the keepers before the door kept the prison. How could Peter 
sleep? Was he not too anxious, too unhappy, to rest quietly? No; Peter 
could be peaceful and happy even in prison ; he could sleep quietly, though 
he expected to be brought before his enemies the next morning, and 
perhaps put to a cruel death. And why was he so calm and happy? 
Because he was at peace with God, through Jesus Christ. Peter was ready 
to die, and therefore he had no cause for fear. 

25 



386 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

While Peter was sleeping, suddenly, in the middle of the night, a 
light shone in the prison, and an angel of the Lord came, and smote him 
on the side, and said, " Arise up quickly." And immediately the chains 
fell off from Peter's hands. Then the angel said again, " Gird thyself, and 
put on thy sandals." And Peter did so. Once more the angel said, " Cast 
thy garment about thee, and follow me." Then Peter arose, and followed 
the angel. They passed through the prison, but the soldiers did not 
awake ; then they came to the door, but the keepers were still sleeping ; 
so they went out, and came to the iron gate. How could they open the 
gate ? Did the angel undo the lock and move away the great bars ? No v 
he had no need to do this ; the gate opened of itself; for God made it 
open that his servant Peter might be delivered. So Peter and the angel 
went through, and came into the city. Then they passed along one street,, 
and, in a moment, the angel was gone. 

All this was done so suddenly, and so quickly, that Peter hardly 
knew what had happened, but thought he saw a vision. But when he was 
come to himself, he said, " Now I know that the Lord has sent his angel,, 
and delivered me out of the hand of Herod." So Peter, full of joy and 
thankfulness, went on, and came to the house of Mary, the mother of John,, 
surnamed Mark, and knocked at the door. Were not all the people in the 
house asleep ? No ; though it was so late, they were awake ; for they had 
a great work to do, and they could not rest till it was done. What was 
that work ? It was prayer. They were all gathered together praying. 

Perhaps they were too busy with their daily duties to come together 
earlier ; so these good people met in the night-time for prayer, and none 
of them complained of being too tired and sleepy to attend to holy things. 
No ; they all thought it was the best and happiest time of the day ; for 
they had learnt to love the work of prayer and praise, better than any 
other work they had to do. They were praying, too, for Peter. They 
had not forgotten their dear friend who had been so long in prison. They 
prayed for him again and again ; for, though God did not answer their 
prayers directly, they felt quite sure that he would at last, when the right 
and best time came. And so he did. This very night, while they were 
praying, Peter came and knocked at the door. 

A young maid, named Rhoda, went out to ask who was there ; and 
when she heard Peter's voice answering, she was so glad, that, without 
opening the gate, she ran back, and told those in the house that Peter was. 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 387 

come. But they would uot believe it. They said, "No; it caunot be; thou 
art mad." But Rhoda told them she was quite sure that it was really 
Peter. All this time Peter stood knocking at the gate ; so at last they 
opened it, and found, to their great joy, that Peter was there indeed. Then 
he told them how he had been delivered, and said, " Go, and show these 
things unto the brethren." So he left them, and went to another place,.' 
where he would be safe from his enemies. 

In the morning, when the soldiers came to look for Peter, they were 
very much astonished not to find him ; and no one knew how he had escaped, 
nor where he was. Herod sought for him a long time in vain ; and then 
he became angry, and commanded the keepers to be put to death. This 
was very unjust and cruel of Herod. The keepers were not to blame; but 
Herod was so angry that he did not care what cruel or unjust thing he did. 

And now Ave come to the sad end of this wicked king. He was 
soon punished for all his crimes in a very dreadful way. Not long after 
Peter's escape, Herod was one day seated upon his throne in his palace at 
Cesarea, dressed in his royal garments. All his lords and his nobles were 
there, and Herod made a speech to them as they stood before him. Then 
they all gave a shout, and cried, "It is the voice of a god, and not of a 
man." But Herod did not reprove them for this foolish and wicked flat- 
tery; he loved to hear himself praised, and to think of his power, and 
greatness, and riches; forgetting that it was God who had given him these 
things, and that he could, in one moment, take them all away. And God 
soon showed the people, and Herod himself, too, how vain and foolish this 
flattery was. He showed them that this wicked king was not a god, but a 
weak, helpless man, unable to save himself from sickness and death when 
they came upon him. "The angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave 
not God the glory; and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." 

Saul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem, with the money sent from the 
Christians at Antioch ; and when they had finished their work there, they 
returned to Antioch. Then they were told by the Holy Ghost to go and 
preach the gospel in other places ; so after prayer for God's blessing, they 
left their friends at Antioch, and sailed to Cyprus. 

There was living at Paphos, in Cyprus, a governor named Sergius 
Paulus. He was a Gentile; a wise man; and he showed that he had 
wisdom by wishing to hear the apostles preach. He wanted to know the 
word of God. But there was a sad enemy of the gospel living at Paphos 



388 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

too. This was a man named Elymas ; lie was a sorcerer, or magician, and 
he not only hated the truth himself, but he wished to prevent Sergius 
Paulus also from believing it. But Saul, being filled with the Holy Ghost, 
and knowing the wickedness of Elymas, fixed his eyes upon him, and said, 
" O thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not 
cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? Behold, now the hand of the 
Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season." 

And as Saul said this, there fell a darkness upon Blynias, and he 
went about seeking some one to lead him by the hand. We do not read 
whether this wicked man ever repented of his great sin, and became will- 
.ing to receive the gospel. But the governor, Sergius Paulus, when he saw 
what was done, believed ; and we may hope that he became a true disciple 
of the Lord Jesus. How dangerous it is to fight against God and his 
gospel ! We have often seen this before. Many times we have read of 
wicked men trying to destroy the truth : but they never could, and they 
never will ; for God is stronger than they, and his word must prosper at last. 

Then Saul, who was now called Paul, left Paphos with his company, 
:and went to Perga, and afterwards to Antioch ; not the Antioch we read 
about before, but another Antioch, in Pisidia. There they went into the 
synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. After reading the law and 
the prophets, the ruler of the S}magogue asked the apostles to preach to 
the people. So Paul stood up, and spoke to them for a long time about 
the history of Israel in past times, and particularly about king David. 
And then he told them of that Son of David, according to promise, the 
Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour. And he explained to them how Jesus 
came into the world, and died, and rose again, to save sinners who will 
believe in him. 

Some of the people, particularly among the Gentiles, were willing to 
believe the gospel ; and they begged the apostles to preach the same ! 
things to them again; and the next Sabbath almost all the city came to 
hear the word of God. But many of the Jews were filled with envy and 
hatred, and could not bear to see the people coming to hear the gospel, 
and contradicted all that Paul and Barnabas said. Then the apostles 
spoke very faithfully and boldly to these unbelieving Jews, and said, " It 
was right that the word of God should be preached to you first, for this 
was the command of Christ; but as you have put it away from you, and 
are careless about everlasting life in heaven, we shall now leave you, and 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 389 

go to the Gentiles. For the Lord has commanded us also to make known 
his salvation to the ends of the earth." 

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and many of them 
believed; but the Jews raised a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and. 
drove them from the city. So the disciples left Antioch and went to 
Iconium. There again they were persecuted by Jews and Gentiles too; SO' 
they escaped to Derbe and Lystra, cities of Lycaonia. 

How very sad all these stories are ! They show us this truth, and 
a very awful truth it is, — that the natural heart is " enmity against God.'* 
All our hearts are, by nature, like the hearts of these unbelieving, perse- 
cuting Jews and Gentiles. Let us pray, then, to be made "children of 
grace ; " to be received into the family of Christ, and to become followers 
of God as his "dear children." 

Paul and his companions went through Phrygia, and Galatia, and 
Mysia, and at last they came to Troas. A Christian church was formed 
in Galatia, to which Paul afterwards sent the epistle called " the epistle to 
the Galatians." 

While Paul was at Troas, he saw, in a vision, a man of Macedonia, 
saying to him, " Come over into Macedonia, and help us." As soon as 
Paul had seen this vision, he determined to go directly to Macedonia; for 
he knew the vision came from God, and that it was sent to tell him that 
there was work to do in Macedonia. So he took a ship, and sailed to 
Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis ; and then he came to Philippi, 
a chief city in Macedonia, peopled by Romans. 

Paul and his friends stayed some days at Philippi ; and on the Sab- 
bath they went to the river's side, to a place where the people used to 
meet for prayer; and Paul sat down, and taught the women who came 
there. One of these women was named Lydia. She was a seller of purple,, 
of the cit}^ of Thyatira, and a worshipper of the true God. The Lord. 
opened the heart of Lydia to attend to the things which Paul said; and 
she became a believer in Christ, and was baptized. Lydia begged them to 
come into her house, and stay there. 

People may hear the gospel preached to them, but they will never 
be the better for it, unless God opens their hearts, as he did Lydia's. All 
our hearts are by nature shut against the truth ; and therefore, whenever 
we read or hear the Scriptures, we should pray, " Lord, open our hearts, 
that we may understand and receive thy word." 



390 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

There was another person at Philippi, to whom Paul was useful. 
This was a young woman who was possessed with an evil spirit, and pre- 
tended to foretell future things. She was a slave ; and her wicked and 
cruel masters gained a great deal of mone}^ by her; for many people came 
to see her, and to hear the things she said. When this young woman 
saw Paul and his companions, she followed them for many days, crying, 
" These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us 
the way of salvation." This was the truth; but the evil spirit did not 
mean the people to think it was ; nor did the poor slave herself under- 
stand rightl}' what she said. 

But, at last, Paul being grieved, and full of pit}^ turned, and said 
to the spirit, " I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out 
of her;" and the evil spirit came out that same hour. And then the poor 
slave no longer said the wicked things she had said before ; but became, 
Ave may hope, a true disciple of the Lord Jesus. But when her masters 
saw what was done, they were very angry, because now they would gain 
no more money by her; so they caught Paul and Silas, and brought them 
before the judges, and said, "These Jews greatly trouble our city, and 
teach things which are unlawful for us to receive, boing Romans." 

Then the multitude rose up, and the judges commanded that the 
lapostles should be beaten. So first they were beaten very cruelly, and 
then cast into prison ; and the jailor was told to keep them safely. This 
jailor was a cruel, hard-hearted man, and very willing to do all the judges 
wished. So he thrust Paul and Silas into the inner prison, and made 
their feet fast in the stocks. 

How sad it was for these two good men to be so cruelly punished 
for preaching the gospel, and trying to do good! But Paul and Silas did 
not feel sad. They could be peaceful and happy even in the prison ; for 
they knew that God was with them there, and they rejoiced to suffer for 
his sake. " And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises 
"unto God; and the prisoners heard them." And God heard them too, and 
answered their prayer in a very wonderful way. He sent a great earth- 
quake, which shook the prison to the foundations ; and all the doors were 
opened, and every one's chains were loosed. The noise awoke the jailor 
out of his sleep ; and when he saw what had happened, he thought that 
all the prisoners had escaped; and he drew his sword, and was going to 
•kill himself. 




PAUL AND THE PHILIPPIAN JAILOR. 



391 



392 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

But Paul cried out, " Do thyself no harm ; for we are all here." 
Theu the jailor called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and 
fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, " Sirs,, 
what must I do to be saved ? " Then they answered, " Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;" and they preached the gospel 
to him, and to all who were in the house. And that same hour, the jailor 
brought them out, and took them into his own house, and gave them food 
to eat ; and was baptized with all his fainity, believing and rejoicing in 
the Lord. 

What a wonderful change this was in the jailor ! A few hours be- 
fore, he was cruel and hard-hearted ; and hated the apostles, and the gospel 
they preached. Now, he was gentle and willing to be taughc ; and had 
become a humble believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. The grace of God 
can change any heart ; and he is willing to pardon and to save the greatest 
sinners. But there is only one way of being saved ; and that is the way 
which Paul and Silas showed to the poor penitent jailor: " Believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'' 

In the morning the magistrates sent to the prison, saying, " Let 
these men go." For the earthquake had frightened the magistrates as well 
as the jailor; but we are not told that they learnt to believe in Jesus 
Christ, as he did. Then the jailor went to Paul and Silas, and said, " The 
magistrates have sent to let you go ; now then depart, and go in peace.'* 
But Paul answered, " No ; they have punished us openly, uncondemnned,, 
and they should not send us away secretly. Let them come themselves, 
and fetch us out." When the magistrates heard this they were afraid; for 
they thought they might perhaps displease the emperor of Rome if they 
ill-treated Roman citizens ; so they came directly, and brought out the 
apostles, and sent them away. Then Paul and Silas went to the house of 
Lydia, and saw the brethren there, and comforted them and departed. 

Thus began a little Christian church at Philippi. Paul, some years 
after, wrote a very beautiful letter to these Christians. It is called in the 
Testament, " the epistle to the Philippians." The Philippians loved Paul 
very much, and often comforted him in his sorrows, and helped him in 
times of need. And Paul loved them too, and remembered and prayed for 
them when he was far distant from Philippi ; and he sent them this letter 
by Timothy, to encourage them to go on serving the Lord ; that, at last, 
he and they might meet in heaven, and never be parted again. He said, 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 39S 

' Therefore, iny brethren, dearty beloved aud longed for, my joy and crown,, 
so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Rejoice in the Lord alway ;. 
and again I say, rejoice. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; 
but in eve^thing by prayer, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made 
known unto God. And the peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds 
through Christ Jesus." 

Paul and his friends then went on to Thessalonica, where was a 
Jewish synagogue, and taught there on the Sabbath day. Some of the 
Jews believed, and so did many of the Greeks. But the Jews who did not 
believe were angry, and called together some wicked men, and went to the 
house where the apostles lodged, to seek for them. The house belonged to 
a good man named Jason. These cruel enemies could not find the apostles ; 
so they laid hold of Jason and the other brethren, and brought them before 
the rulers of the city, and said, "Those men who have troubled the world 
in other places, are come here also ; and Jason has received them into his 
house. They are teaching people to disobey our laws ; they say that there 
is another king, named Jesus." 

This troubled the rulers very much ; but they did no hurt at that 
time to Jason and the others, but let them go. Then the brethren sent 
away Paul and Silas by night ; and they came to Berea. God blessed 
Paul's preaching to many people at Thessalonica ; and a Christian church 
was formed there, to which Paul afterwards wrote the two epistles to 
the Thessalonians. 

Were the Jews at Berea more willing to attend to Paul than the 
Jews at Thessalonica? Yes; we are told they were "more noble than 
those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all readiness of 
mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so ; 
therefore many of them believed." The Jews at Thessalonica hardly 
attended to what the apostles preached ; those at Berea not only attended, 
but thought a good deal about it afterwards. They searched the Old 
Testament Scriptures to see if they could find in them anything like what 
Paul said. And they did find much there about the Lord Jesus Christ, of 
whom Moses, and David, and Isaiah, and others, had prophesied. 

And then many of these Bereans believed ; for God blessed their 
searching of his word, and taught them more and more by his Spirit, and 
helped them to understand and believe the truth. This is a lesson for us. 
We ought not only to hear the gospel preached, but to read and search 



394 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

into the Bible for ourselves. We should " prove all things " by the Scrip- 
tures ; asking God to enable us to understand them aright ; and then he 
will lead us, by his Holy Spirit, into all truth, as he did the wise and 
noble Bereans. But Paul could not stay long at this place ; for the 
unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica came, and stirred up the people of Berea 
too ; so the brethren sent Paul awa}', and he went to Athens. 

We read a great deal about Athens in history. It was a place very 
famous for learning, and wisdom, and knowledge, and politeness. But yet 
these people at Athens had no true wisdom ; for they were ignorant of 
God, and of the Bible, and of the way to heaven. They worshipped many 
false gods, and had feasts in honor of them ; and these gods, they thought, 
were not holy and good, as the God of the Bible- is ; but bad and wicked; 
of like passions with themselves. Yet the Athenians worshipped them 
still ; and thus, " professing themselves to be wise, they became fools ;" 
for they were " vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart 
was darkened." 

When Paul saw all this, he was grieved to the heart. He too was 
learned, and able to enjoy much which the Athenians enjoyed; and to 
admire many things which they admired. But Paul had that true wisdom 
of which they knew nothing. He had " learnt to know nothing among 
men save Jesus Christ, and him crucified ; " and he could not feel happy 
at Athens, beautiful as it was, because "he saw the city wholly given to 
idolatry." So Paul went about, among the Jews, and the Greeks too, 
speaking to them of Jesus and the resurrection. At last, some of the 
philosophers, or wise men, met him, and asked him to explain to them 
what these new doctrines meant. 

So Paul stood on the top of a rock, called Mars Hill, and said, "Ye 
men of Athens, as I passed by, and looked at the gods ye worship, I saw 
an altar with this written on it — To the Unknown God. Now this God 
whom ye ignorantly worship, him I preach unto you. The true God of 
whom I tell you, made the world, and all things that are in it; and he 
gives to us life, and breath, and all things. And it is his will that we should 
seek him, and feel after him, and find him ; for he is not far from any of 
us ; for in him we live, and move, and have our being. Then we ought 
not to think that this great God is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, as 
many ignorantly do. God is now making himself known in all the world ; 
and he commands people everywhere to repent, and to turn to him and 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 395 

believe. For a da}- will come, when God will judge the world in righteous- 
ness, by that man whom he raised from the dead, even this same Jesus 
that I preach to you." 

When Paul began to talk about the resurrection of the dead, some 
mocked ; others said, " We will hear thee again another time." So Paul 
departed from them. Yet there were some, even in Athens, who believed 
what Paul preached. Among them was a man named Dionysius, and a 
woman called Damaris, and others with them. And thus while Paul 
preached " Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the 
Greeks foolishness," those who believed found Christ to be " the power of 
God, and the wisdom of God." 

So Paul left Athens, and went to Corinth, another city in Greece. 
There he found a Jew named Aquila, who had just come from Italy with 
his wife Priscilla, because the Roman emperor had commanded all Jews to 
go away from Rome. Aquila and Priscilla were believing Jews, and very 
kind and friendly to Paul ; so he went and stayed at their house. But 
Paul, and Aquila, and Priscilla, did not live in idleness ; they had to work 
for their daily bread ; and as they were of the same trade, they worked 
together ; for they were tentmakers. 

This is a lesson for us. God's people should be anxious to do good, 
and be useful to others ; but they must remember, too, not to neglect their 
own daily duties. If they are poor, as Paul and his friends were, they 
should work diligentty to get their own living, that they may not be 
troublesome to those around them. And if, while they work with their 
hands, the} r think of God, and love him in their hearts, he will bless them 
in everything they do. St. Paul sa} r s a great deal in his Epistles about 
industry and diligence ; and he reproves the idle and slothful, commanding 
them, " by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat 
their own bread." And he sa}^s again, that " if any would not work, neither 
should he eat.'' 

Every Sabbath da}', P^ul went into the synagogue, and talked to the 
Jews and Greeks. The ruler of the synagogue, who was named Crispus, 
attended to what Paul preached, and believed with all his family ; and so 
did many of the Corinthians. There were enemies of the gospel at Corinth, 
as at other places ; but God appeared to Paul in a vision by night, and 
told him not to fear them. He said, " Be not afraid, but speak, and hold 
not thy peace ; for I am with thee, and no man shall hurt thee ; for I have 



396 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

much people in this city." This encouraged Paul ; so he stayed a year 
and six mouths at Corinth, teaching the word of God to the people. 

At last the Jews were so angry with Paul, that they laid hold of 
him, and brought him before Gallio, the Roman governor of Achaia, to be 
judged. The}- said, a This man teaches people to worship God contrary to 
the law." This was untrue; and Paul was just going to explain that what 
he preached was not contrary to the law ; but Gallio was impatient, and 
would not hear. He said, " All this is no business of mine. I understand 
nothing of your law ; you must look to the matter yourselves ; for I will 
be no judge of such things;" and then he drove them away from the 
judgment-seat. So the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, 
a friend of Paul, and beat him ; but Gallio said nothing to them, for " he 
cared for none of these things." 

Gallio was not so persecuting and cruel as many of the enemies of 
the Gospel were ; but he was really, perhaps, as much an enemy as any 
of them. He knew nothing of God, nor Christ, nor the way of salvation ; 
and he wished to know nothing of them ; for " Gallio cared for none of 
these things." But how sad it is to be careless about such matters ! 
They are far more necessary for us to care about than any worldly things ; 
and at the day of judgment we shall find them to be so. All will care 
for " these things " then ; but at that awful time, caring for them will 
do no good: for it will be too late then to seek foi pardon, and salvation, 
and eternal life in heaven. Let us " care for the things that belong unto 
the Lord," and unto salvation, now; and then we shall be ready for death 
and judgment, whenever they may come. 

Paul stayed at Corinth some time after this ; and then he took 
leave of the brethren there, and sailed towards Syria, with Priscilla and 
Aquila. A great many of the Corinthians became true believers in the 
Lord Jesus Christ ; and Paul loved them, and afterwards wrote them two 
long letters — the two epistles to the Corinthians. These letters are full of 
good advice, and kind warnings, and faithful reproofs, too; for the Corin- 
thians often did things which were wrong ; and Paul loved them too well 
not to tell them of their faults. 

But he did all in affection, and like a kind and wise father; and 
they received his advice and reproofs like obedient and affectionate children. 
And then he comforted them when they were sorrowful, and prayed God 
to comfort them too; and he ended his last letter by telling them how 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 397 

they might be truly happy ; happjr in this world, and eternally happy in 
heaven : " Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect ; be of good comfort ; be 
of one mind ; live in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." 

Ou his way to Syria, Paul stopped at Bphesus, and left Aquila and 
Priscilla there ; and then he went on, promising soon to return if it should 
be the will of God. Another faithful minister came to Bphesus about this 
time ; a Jew, named Apollos. He was a sincere believer in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and learned in the Scriptures, and bold, and diligent, and full 
of love. But Apollos was young, and did not yet understand the way of 
God perfectly ; so Aquila and Priscilla used to ask him to their house ; 
and then they talked to him about holy things, and explained to him 
what he did not know before. 

This was very useful to Apollos ; for Aquila and Priscilla were older 
than he, and had served God longer, and had more knowledge. It was 
right and kind of them to instruct him ; and Apollos was very grateful 
for their instructions. It is pleasant to see young people and older ones 
living as Priscilla and Aquila and Apollos did ; and it is the way in 
which all Christians ought to live together. 

And after a little time, Apollos left Bphesus, and went to other 
places, preaching to the Jews, and " showing by the Scriptures that Jesus 
is the Christ ; " and while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, after visiting 
many different countries, came again to Bphesus. There were many dis- 
ciples at Bphesus; but they had not yet received the Holy Ghost in that 
wonderful way in which it had been given to many others. Their hearts 
had been changed and made new by the Spirit ; but they had not yet 
been taught by him to speak with tongues, and to prophesy. So Paul, 
after he had baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus, laid his hands on 
them, and prayed ; and then the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they 
spoke with tongues, and prophesied. Paul stayed two years at Bphesus, 
preaching and working miracles in the name of Jesus. 

At last, some of the unbelieving Jews in Bphesus pretended that 
they could do these wonders too ; so they called, over a man who had an 
evil spirit, the name of Jesus, saying, "We adjure you by Jesus whom 
Paul preacheth." But the evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul 
I know; but who are ye?" And the man who had the evil spirit leaped 
upon them, and overcame them ; so they fled from the house wounded 
and frightened. This was soon known among all the people at Bphesus ; 



398 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

and many of them, when they heard it, believed ; for it showed them that 
Paul worked miracles by the power of God, and that he was not a mere 
pretender, like those wicked, unbelieving Jews. 

And many of those who had been magicians, or sorcerers, when they 
believed the gospel, and found how foolish and sinful their arts were, r 
brought their books, and burnt them before all men. Those books were 
full of what was wicked, and could do good to no one ; so the Bphesians 
did right to burn them. 

But after a time, there was great trouble in the city of Ephesus; 
for the enemies of the truth began to persecute the disciples there, as in 
other places. There was a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who 
made silver images of Diana, the idol-goddess of the Ephesians. Demetrius 
was an idolater, and he gained his living by this wicked trade of image- 
making. But when the people of Ephesus became believers in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, they gave up their idolatry, and wanted no more silver images 
from Demetrius. Then the silversmith began to fear that he should lose 
his business ; so he called together all the other silversmiths in the place r 
and said to them, "Sirs, you know that by this trade we have our wealth. 
Now this Paul, who preaches here, is turning away the people from 
the worship of Diana, and telling them that those are no gods which are 
made with hands. So now our trade is thought nothing of; no one comes 
to buy our silver images ; and the temple of our great goddess Diana is 
despised." Then those who heard what Demetrius said were very angry y 
and cried out, " Great is Diana of the Ephesians." All the people in the 
city, when they heard the noise, came together ; and some of them caught 
hold of two of the friends of Paul, and hurried them away. Paul wished 
to go to them ; but his other friends would not let him put himself into 
danger: so they kept him safely. 

The tumult in the city lasted a long time. Some cried one thing, 
and some another; and many did not know why they had come together 
at all. Then a Jew, named Alexander, tried to defend himself; but as 
soon as he began to speak, the people cried out again, " Great is Diana 
of the Ephesians;" and they would not attend to any thing he said, because 
he was a Jew. At last, the town cleric came out to quiet the people. 

He said to them, "Ye men of Ephesus, all the world knows that the 
people of this city worship the great goddess Diana, and the image which 
fell down from our god Jupiter; you need not cry out so loudly what every 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 399 

one believes. You ought to be quiet, aud do nothing hastily; for these 
men, whom you accuse, have done you no hurt ; they are not robbers of 
churches, nor blasphemers of your goddess. If Demetrius has any thing to 
say against them, let the matter be decided by law ; for we are in danger 
of being called in question ourselves about this day's uproar." And when 
the town clerk had said this, he sent away the multitude. So all was quiet; 
and then Paul called the disciples, and took leave of them, and departed., 

The Bphesians were wise in many things ; yet they were so foolish, 
and so ignorant, that they could believe the silly stories which they were 
taught about the goddess Diana, and the image which fell down from 
Jupiter. There are many heathen nations as foolish now. Let us pray- 
that God would send his gospel to them, and turn their hearts from " idols 
to serve the living and true God." 

But there were some true Christians among the Ephesians : and to 
them Paul afterwards wrote a beautiful epistle, when he himself was a 
prisoner at Rome. And in that letter he reminded them how wicked and 
ignorant they had once been ; and thanked God who had pardoned their 
sins, and made them his own children through faith in Christ Jesus. 
He said, " And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and 
sins ; ■wherein, in times past, ye walked according to the course of this 
world. At that time ye were without Christ, having no hope, and without 
God in the world : but now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were afar 
off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ." 

Paul went into Macedonia again; and after visiting other places, came 
at last to Troas, on his way to Syria, and stayed there seven days. On 
the first day of the week, the disciples came together, and Paul preached 
to them, ready to depart on the morrow. The first day of the week is our 
Sunday, the Christian Sabbath. The Jewish Sabbath was on the seventh 
day of the week ; because on that day God rested from his work of crea- 
tion, and "blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." But after Christ's 
resurrection, the Sabbath was kept on the first day of the week; for Chris- 
tians remember a still more glorious work which happened on that day. It 
was on the first day of the week that the Lord Jesus Christ arose from 
the grave, and so finished the work of our redemption. 

It was in the evening, when the little company of Christians at 
Troas met together to hear Paul preach. They assembled in an upper 
room; there were many lights in the room; and as Paul had much to say 



400 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

to the people, lie went on preaching till midnight. There sat in a window 
of the room a young man named Eutychus ; and as Paul was long preach- 
ing, this young man fell asleep, and at last sank down with sleep, and 
fell from the window, and was taken up dead. 

All the disciples were in great trouble, when they saw what had 
happened ; but Paul went down to the place where the dead body lay, and 
fell on it, and prayed God to raise Eutychus to life again. And God, who 
had before raised the dead at the prayers of Elijah and Elisha, was pleased 
to hear the prayer of Paul now, and to assure him that Eutychus should 
live again. So Paul said to those who were sorrowing around, " Trouble 
not yourselves ; for his life is in him." Then Paul came up again, and ate 
bread with the disciples, and talked to them till morning, and then departed. 

Paul left Troas, and went on foot to Assos ; then he took ship, and 
sailed to Miletus. He was anxious to be at Jerusalem on the day of 
Pentecost ; so he hastened on his journey from place to place. But he 
would not leave Miletus without seeing some very dear friends. These 
were the elders of the church of Ephesus. He sent for them, that he 
might talk to them once more, before he took leave of them for ever. So 
when they were come, he spoke to them very affectionately and tenderly. 
He reminded them of all that he had said in times past ; and then told 
them, that now he was going to Jerusalem, not knowing what might hap- 
pen to him there. 

But he said, " The Holy Ghost tells me that, in every place, bonds 
and troubles await me. Yet none of these things move me ; neither think 
I my life dear untc myself; I only wish to finish my course with joy, and 
the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus. And now I know 
that all you among whom I have preached shall see my face no more. 
Remember, then, what I have told you, and take care of the flock which 
God has given you to feed — the church which he has bought with his own 
blood. I know that wolves will soon come among you, and try to destroy 
that little flock. Enemies will come, and try to lead you away from the 
truth of the gospel. Watch, then, and pray ; and remember how I have 
warned you for three years, night and day, with tears. And now I give 
you up to God, and to the word of his grace ; for he is able to keep you, 
and at last bring you safely to the inheritance he has prepared for them 
that are sanctified." 

And when Paul had said this, he knelt down and prayed with them 




PAUL TAKING LEAVE OF THE ELDERS OF EPHESUS. 
26 401 



402 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

all. And they wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him ; sor- 
rowing most of all for the words that he spoke — that they should see his 
face no more. So they went with him to the ship ; then they again bid 
him farewell, and watched him for a long while, till at last the ship sailed 
far away be} 7 ond their sight, and they saw him no more. 

On his voyage to Jerusalem, Paul stopped at many places. He 
stayed seven days at Tyre, where he found some disciples ; and when the 
time came for him to go away, these disciples all went with him to the 
seashore ; and then they kneeled down, and prayed together. When they 
had taken leave of one another, the disciples returned home ; and Paul and 
his companions sailed on first to Ptolemais, and then to Csesarea. 

While Paul was there, a prophet came from Judea, named Agabus. 
This prophet had been taught, by the Holy Spirit, the things which 
should happen to Paul at Jerusalem. So he took Paul's girdle, and bound 
his own hands and feet, and said, " Thus saith the Holy Ghost, so shall 
the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owneth this girdle, and shall 
give him up to the Gentiles." 

When the friends of Paul heard this, they all begged him not to go 
to Jerusalem. They loved him very much, and could not bear that he 
should suffer; and they wished to keep him with them, if they could. 
But what Agabus prophesied did not frighten Paul, nor trouble him at all. 
He turned to his friends, who. were all weeping around him, and said, 
" What mean ye to weep, and to break my heart ? I am ready not only 
to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Jesus." 
His own sufferings he cared nothing for; but it troubled him very much 
to see others in sorrow for his sake. 

There was no selfishness in Paul. His only care was to be useful 
to others, and to glorify God in everything ; either by preaching the gos- 
pel, or by suffering and dying for it. So when his friends saw how deter- 
mined he was, they did not try to persuade him any more; but only said, 
" The will of the Lord be done." They knew that whatever God should 
appoint must be right, though it might be painful to Paul, and to them 
also, for his sake ; and they left all to his will. And this is what we 
ought to do, in times of sorrow; we should say, "Lord, not as we will, 
but as thou wilt." 

So Paul came to Jerusalem. The brethren there received him with 
great joy ; but very soon, the unbelieving Jews began to persecute him, as 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



40$ 




^^PMsoH- 



Agabus had prophesied. They accused hiiu of speaking against the law,, 
not understanding what it was that he really preached ; and then they laid 
hold of him in the Temple, and drew him out, and tried to kill him. All 
Jerusalem was in an uproar ; but at last the 
Roman captain, Lysias, came out with some sol- 
diers ; and then they became quieter, and left off 
beating Paul. So Lysias took him, and bound 
him with two chains ; and then he asked the 
people who Paul was, and what he had done. 
Some cried one thing and some another, and the 
chief captain could not understand what they 
meant ; but he commanded Paul to be taken to 
the castle. As he was carried along by the sol- 
diers, the multitude followed, crying, " Away with 
him ; " just as many had cried when Christ him- 
self was taken to be put to death. Paul was 
now hated, and despised, and persecuted for his 
Master's sake. 

When they came to the castle, Paul said 
to the chief captain, "May I speak to thee?" 
Paul said this in the Greek language, which sur- 
prised Lysias very much ; for he had thought all 
this time that Paul was an Egyptian, who had 
made a rebellion in the country some time before. 
So the chief captain said, " Canst thou speak 
Greek ? Art thou not the Egyptian who led into 
the wilderness four thousand men that were mur- 
derers ? " Then Paul answered, " No ; I am a 
Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia. I pray thee let me 
speak now to these people." So Lysias gave 
him leave ; and all the people stood quite still 
to hear what Paul would say. 

And what did Paul speak to them about? He 
told them his past history : the wonderful stories which we have been reading, 
of his cruelties to the Christians at first, and his conversion to the faith of 
Christ afterwards, when going to Damascus ; and of the command which God 
gave him, to go and preach to the Gentiles. The people heard Paul patiently 




fo Kill Paul 




''MARE. PvtVVDV 2.00 _J 

SOLDIERS r^m 

To GO To CESAREA ,, -s^ 



404 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

till lie came to this, and then they grew very angry indeed. Why? 
Because, as Jews, they felt jealous of the Gentiles, and could not bear that 
God should show them any love or favor. This was a very bad, spirit ; 
quite different from the spirit of the gospel, which tells us that there is no 
difference between Jews and Gentiles, but that all are " one in Christ 
Jesus." But these Jews were not believers in the gospel of love and peace; 
so the} r cried out, " Away with this man ; it is not right that he should live." 

Then the chief captain brought Paul into the castle, and commanded 
that he should be beaten. But while the}' were binding him, Paul said to 
a centurion who stood by, "Is it lawful to beat a man who is a Roman, 
and uncondemned ? " When the centurion heard this, he went to Lysias 
and said, " Take care what thou doest ; for this man is a Roman." Then 
the chief captain asked Paul himself, " Art thou a Roman ? " And he 
answered, "Yes." Lysias began to be frightened at this; for it was 
unlawful to treat a free citizen of Rome as Paul had been treated. So the 
next day, Lysias called together the chief priests and their council ; and 
loosed Paul from his bonds, and brought him before them to be examined. 

Then Paul began to defend himself, and said, " Men and brethren, 
I have lived honestly before God until this day." Paul did not mean 
by this that he had never done anything to displease God ; for he well 
knew how weak and sinful he was. But he meant that he had not done 
those things of which his enemies accused him, and that he did not 
deserve to be brought there to be judged. 

Then the high priest, Ananias, commanded those that stood by to 
smite Paul upon the mouth. This was cruel and unjust too, and Paul 
felt that it was ; so he turned to Ananias, and said, " God shall smite 
thee, for sittest thou to judge me according to the law, and commandest 
me to be smitten contrary to the law?" Some of the standers by said, 
<( Revilest thou God's high priest ? " Then Paul answered, " I did not 
know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written in God's 
law, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people." Paul remem- 
bered, even before his cruel and unjust enemies, that he ought to give 
lionor to those to whom honor is due. But what Paul said to Ananias 
was afterwards fearfully fulfilled. God did smite that wicked man. 
Ananias was killed, some years after, in a rebellion headed by his own son. 

Paul then began to speak of the resurrection of the dead. But as 
some of those who heard him were Pharisees, who believed in the resur- 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 405 

rection, and some were Sadducees, who did not believe in it, they began to 
quarrel among themselves ; and the confusion was so great, that Lysias 
feared that Paul would be torn to pieces by the multitude ; so he com- 
manded the soldiers to take him away, and carry him into the castle- 
That very night, the Lord stood by him, and said, " Fear not, Paul; thou, 
hast testified of me in Jerusalem, and so thou must also in Rome." 

The next day, some of the Jews made a conspiracy against Paul, 
and determined that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed 
him. Then they went to the chief priests, and told them, and said, " We 
have determined neither to eat nor drink till we have killed Paul. Now. 
then, to-morrow ask the chief captain to bring him down to you again ;; 
and we, before he come near, are ready to kill him." But God had deter- 
mined that Paul should not die at Jerusalem, and he found a way of 
escape for him. 

It happened that a nephew of Paul heard something of this con- 
spiracy, and he went directly to the castle, and told his uncle. Then Paul 
called a centurion, and asked him to take the young man to the chief 
captain. So the centurion went with Paul's nephew to Lysias, and said,, 
" Paul, the prisoner, asked me to bring this young man to thee ; he has 
something to tell thee." Then Lysias took Paul's nephew by the hand 
and drew him aside, and said, "What hast thou to tell me?" 

The young man answered, " The Jews are going to-morrow to ask 
thee to bring Paul again into the council ; but do not yield to them ; for 
there are more than forty men who have made a vow neither to eat nor 
drink till they have killed him ; and now they are ready, looking for a 
promise from thee." Then the chief captain told the young man to keep 
all secret, and sent him away. As soon as he was gone Lysias called two 
centurions, and told them to make ready a number of soldiers, and horse- 
men, and spearsmen, and send them that night with Paul, to Csesarea, to 
Felix, the governor. 

Then he wrote a letter to Felix, telling him all about Paul, and 
how he had been accused, and how his enemies had conspired against him; 
and he asked Felix to hear for himself what Paul had to say. So the 
soldiers did as they were commanded, and brought Paul to Caesarea, and 
gave the letter to the governor. When Felix had read it, he said he would 
hear Paul's defence as soon as his accusers were come, and commanded, 
that Paul should be kept in Herod's judgment-hall at Caesarea. 



406 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



Iu a few da} r s Ananias, the high priest, came to Csesarea, and with 
him a man named Tertnllns, one of Paul's enemies. Then Paul was 
called out, and brought before Felix ; and Tertullus began to accuse him, 
as others had done, of despising the temple, and troubling the Jewish 
people. All the Jews who heard Tertullus speak agreed with him, and 
said that what he had spoken was true. Then Paul defended himself, 
saying that his enemies falsely accused him of making a tumult or dis- 
turbance in Jerusalem. But there was one thing they accused him of, 
which he confessed was quite true ; and that was his preaching about the 

resurrection of the dead. 




fA\!h ^EFcTrTe Feu* and pRUSILLA. 



Then Felix said he would 
hear Paul again another 
time ; so he commanded 
the centurion to keep him, 
but to treat him kindly, 
and to let his friends 
come and see him. 

After some days, Felix 
sent for Paul again, and 
heard him speak about 
"the faith in Christ." 
And as Paul reasoned 
of righteousness, temper- 
ance, and judgment to 
come, Felix trembled, and answered, " Go thy way for this time ; when I 
have a convenient season I will call for thee." And Felix used often to 
send for him, and hear him talk ; hoping that Paul would offer him money, 
that he might loose him. But we do not read that Felix ever found a 
■"convenient season" for seeking to become righteous, and -ready for "the 
judgment to come," though he trembled so much when Paul spoke to him 
of these things. 

Perhaps Felix thought, ." I will attend to all this another day; there 
is time enough yet ;" and so he put off repentance till it was too late ; and 
at last died without pardon, and without hope. Learn from Felix to attend 
to heavenly things now; and not to wait for a more "convenient season." 
The Bible tells us that the best season is the present : " Now is the 
accepted time ; now is the day of salvation." 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 407 

After two years a new governor came to Caesarea, named Festus ; 
and Felix went away, leaving Panl bonnd. Then the Jews told Festus all 
about Paul ; and Festus commanded that he should be brought before his 
judgment-seat. Paul again answered for himself, that he had done nothing 
against the Jews, nor against their law, nor their temple ; and then he said 
that he wished to be judged by Caesar, the Roman emperor. 

Paul bore all his sufferings patiently, but he wished for justice; he 
had a right, as a Roman citizen, to be judged by Caesar ; and he thought 
this the best way of saving himself from his cruel enemies, the Jews. 
Festus was willing that it should be so. He said, " Hast thou appealed 
unto Cassar? unto Caesar shalt thou go." But after some days king 
Agrippa came to Caesarea with his sister Bernice, to see Festus. This 
Agrippa was son of the wicked Herod who put Peter into prison. He was 
king of Judea, Galilee, Samaria, and some other places. 

Festus told Agrippa a great deal about the prisoner Paul, and 
Agrippa became very anxious to see him ; so the next day, when Agrippa, 
and Bernice, and the chief captains, and the nobles of the city, were come 
into the place of hearing, Festus commanded that Paul should be brought 
before them ; and then Agrippa said to him, " Thou art permitted to speak 
for thyself." So Paul stretched out his hand, and answered for himself. 

He told them all his histor}^ ; how he was brought up, how he at 
first hated and persecuted the Christians ; and how, at last, he was con- 
verted, and became a Christian himself, and a preacher of the Gospel. 
And then he told them what it was he preached. It was about the Lord 
Jesus Christ, of whom Moses and the prophets wrote, who died for sinners, 
and rose again the third day. When Paul said this, Festus cried out, with 
a loud voice, "Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make 
thee mad." For Festus did not believe what Paul said. 

But Paul answered calmly, " I am not mad, most noble Festus, but 
speak the words of truth and soberness." And then he turned to Agrippa 
and said, "The king knoweth these things; they are not hidden from him. 
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? I know that thou believest." 
For Agrippa professed the Jewish religion, and had often heard and read 
Aloses and the prophets. Agrippa felt the power of what Paul said, and 
answered, " Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Then Paul 
said, " I would to God, that not only thou, but all those who hear me this 
day, were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds." 



408 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

When he had spoken these words, Agrippa, and Bernice, and Festus, 
and all the company, rose lip, and went apart by themselves, and began 
to talk together about Paul. They agreed that he was innocent ; but as 
he had appealed to Caesar, it was determined that he should be sent to 
Rome. And did Agrippa become a Christian ? No ; we do not read that 
he ever did. He was half inclined to believe ; almost determined to love 
the Saviour whom Paul loved ; but he never was, we may fear, really and 
truly a Christian. And therefore, like Felix, when death came, Agrippa 
was not ready for it ; his sins were not pardoned ; his heart was not made 
new ; and he died without hope, notwithstanding all he had felt and 
wished, perhaps, when Paul preached to him. 

Let this sad story teach you to be decided in religion ; and to be 
decided at once. " Choose ye this day whom ye will serve ; " and pray 
that you may be enabled to say with all your heart, as Joshua did, " As 
for me, I will serve the Lord." 

When all was ready, Paul and some of his fellow-prisoners were 
given up to the care of a centurion, and began their voyage towards Rome. 
As they sailed along, they touched at Sidon; and the centurion kindly 
allowed Paul to go on shore, and see his friends, and refresh himself. 
Then they left Sidon, and passed by Cyprus, and sailed over the seas of 
Cilicia and Pamphylia, and came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion 
found another ship sailing to Italy, so he put the prisoners into it. Then 
they sailed very slowly for some days, for the wind was against them* 
and at last they came to Crete, to a place called the Fair Havens. 

It was now late in the year, and sailing became dangerous, because 
of the storms which were very common and very violent in those seas; 
so Paul called to those in the ship, and said, "Sirs, I see that this voyage 
wall be with much hurt and danger, not only to the ship, but also to our 
lives." But most of them were anxious to sail to Phenice, another haven 
of Crete, and there to winter. So they would not attend to Paul, who 
wished them to stay quietly where they were ; but as the south wind blew 
softly, they loosed from the Fair Havens, and sailed close by Crete. 

Not long after, a stormy wind arose, and the ship -was tossed about 
upon the waves, and the sky became black with clouds, and they saw 
neither sun nor stars for many days. Then they wished they had taken 
Paul's advice ; but it was too late now. So they cast their goods out of 
the ship, to lighten it, and thought only how they might save their lives. 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



409 



Soon all nope was taken away ; every one was in terror, expecting that 
the ship must sink, and that they would be swallowed up in the deep 
waters, and rise no more. 

But Paul was peaceful and happy still; and when the others were 
so much frightened, he stood in the midst of them, 
and said, " Fear not ; there shall be no loss of any 
man's life, but only of the ship. For there stood by 
me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and 
whom I serve, saying, ' Fear not, Paul, thcu must be 
brought before Caesar ; and God has given thee all 
them that sail in the ship with thee.' Be of good 
comfort, then ; for I believe God, that it shall be as it 
was told me. But we must be cast on a certain island." 

Soon after, the shipmen found that they were 
coming near to some country. Then they feared they 
might fall upon the rocks, as it was now night, so 
they cast out their anchors, and wished for day. The 
sailors wanted to leave the ship, and escape in a boat ; 
but Paul said to the centurion and soldiers, " If these 
men do not stay in the ship, you cannot be saved." 
So the soldiers prevented these selfish men from leaving 
the ship, at a time when they were wanted so much. 
Then Paul comforted them, and told them to take 
some meat, for they had fasted a long time, and he 
gave thanks to God before them all, and broke bread, 
und ate. 

When it was da}^ they found themselves close 
to the land. They did not know what the name of 
the country was, nor who lived in it; but they deter- 
mined to seek safety there. The cruel soldiers wanted 
to kill the prisoners, fearing that some of them might 
swim out and escape. But the centurion was willing 
to save Paul, and would not let the soldiers do as 
they wished. 

The ship was now almost broken to pieces by the violence of the 
waves; so the centurion commanded that those who could swim should cast 
themselves first into the sea, and get to land ; and the rest, some on 




410 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, 
that they all escaped safe to land. 

A storm at sea is a very fearful thing. The Psalmist tells us so, 
when he says, " They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business 
in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the 
deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up 
the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to 
the depths ; their soul is melted because of trouble. They cry unto the 
Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. Then 
are they glad because they be quiet ; so he bringeth them to the haven 
where they would be." 

You may never have seen a storm at sea, and perhaps you never 
will. But there are storms of another kind, which we must all meet with 
some time or other. Life is like a voyage, and troubles and sorrows are 
like the storms and tempests on the sea. At the beginning of life, every- 
thing, perhaps, looks fair and sunny; and young people think it will 
always be so: just as these shipmen thought that their voyage would be 
safe and pleasant, " when the south wind blew softly." 

But a storm soon came upon them, and so sorrow will come upon 
us; for, as the Bible says, we are "born to trouble." And what can comfort 
us then ? Only what comforted Paul, and what comforted the poor disciples 
when they were tossed upon the waves in the sea of Galilee ; — believing 
that Christ is near, saying, " Fear not ; it is I ; be not afraid." If he is 
with us, we need fear none of the storms of life; for he will keep us in 
them all, and bring us safely through the " waves of this troublesome 
world, to the land of everlasting life." 

Paul and his companions soon found that the land to which they 
had escaped was called Melita. It is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, 
south of Sicily, and is now called Malta. The people then living at Melita 
were ignorant heathens ; but they were very kind to the poor shipwrecked 
people ; for they lighted a fire, and invited them to come and warm them- 
selves by it, because of the rain and cold. So Paul gathered some sticks, 
and threw them on the fire, and they all stood round warming themselves. 

But Paul, and the others, had not seen a viper which was hid among 
the sticks ; and now the heat brought it out, and it fastened upon Paul's 
hand. When the heathens saw this, they said one to another, " No doubt 
that man is a murderer; he has escaped from the sea; but he will be 




PAUL KEEPS THE SAILORS ON BOARD THE SHIP. 



411 



412 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

punished for his wickedness here ; he will not be suffered to live." But 
Paul shook off the viper into the fire, and felt no hurt. The islanders 
looked on for a long time, thinking that Paul would certainly die ; * but 
when they found that he was not hurt, they changed their minds, and said 
he must be a god. These poor people were sadly ignorant, but Paul was 
able and willing to teach them better; and so he did. 

One of the chief men in the island was named Publius. He was 
very kind to Paul, and lodged him in his house three days. The father 
of Publius was very ill of a fever; so Paul went in to see him, and prayed, 
and laid his hands on him, and healed him. When the people heard of 
this, many others came to Paul to be cured, and he did good to them all. 
But Paul was most anxious to do good to their souls; so he used to speak 
to them of the Lord Jesus Christ, the good physician, who could heal them 
of a disease much worse than any bodily sickness. We may believe that 
many of these poor islanders became true Christians, through the preaching 
of Paul ; and this made him so happy, that he forgot all his past 
sufferings and dangers. 

After three months, Paul and his companions took leave of their 
kind friends at Melita, and sailed in a new ship to Rome. There were 
some Christians at Rome, to whom Paul had before written the epistle to 
the Romans ; and when these Christians heard that he was coming, they 
went to meet him, as far as Appii Forum. Paul was very glad to see 
them, and thanked God, and took courage. 

Then they all went on to Rome. As soon as they were come there, 
the centurion delivered the other prisoners to the captain of the guard; 
but Paul was suffered to live by himself, with a soldier that kept him. A 
great many Jews came to see Paul ; and he told them all that had hap- 
pened to him, and why he was sent to Rome ; for they had heard nothing 
of it before. Then they asked him to tell them those things which, lit 
preached, and for which he was accused ; so he invited them to his lodg- 
ing, and there spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and about Jesus 
the Messiah ; teaching them from the law of Moses and the prophets, from 
morning until evening. " And some believed the things which were 
spoken, and some believed not." Paul spoke very faithfully and solemnly 
to the unbelievers ; and then they departed. Perhaps they never again 
heard the Gospel preached to them. 

Paul stayed in his own house at Rome two years, " teaching those 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 413 

tilings which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, no man forbidding him." He 
wrote many of his epistles while at Rome. Besides those of which we 
have read before, he sent one to the Colossians, and another to Titus, the 
first bishop of Crete; it is thought also that the epistle to the Hebrews, or 
Jewish Christians, was written by Paul. Thus he could be useful even 
when a prisoner ; and he was enabled to bear all his sufferings with 
patience, knowing that he was "the prisoner of the Lord;" "an ambas- 
sador in bonds " for Christ's sake ; and he could say, even with joy, " for 
the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain." 

One of the last letters that Paul wrote, was the epistle to Philemon. 
Philemon was a rich man of Colosse, who had learnt to believe the Gospel 
from hearing Paul preach. Philemon had a servant named Onesimus ; but 
this servant was very unlike his good master, and very unlike what ser- 
vants should be. He was a dishonest and wicked man. He stole some of 
Philemon's property, and then ran away with it, and escaped to Rome. 
But while there, Onesimus heard Paul preach ; and God blessed what was 
said, so that it brought Onesimus to repent of his sins, and to ask for 
pardon through Jesus Christ, and for grace to serve God for the time to 
come. Thus Onesimus became a true Christian ; and then he wished to 
go back to his master, and tell him how sorry he was, and ask for forgiveness. 

But perhaps Onesimus felt half afraid at first, lest Philemon should 
not receive him, nor believe what he said. So Paul wrote a letter, telling 
Philemon all about Onesimus, and asking him to forgive him ; and then 
he sent the servant with it to Colosse. Paul said in this letter, "I beseech 
thee for vij son Onesimus, which in time past was unprofitable, but now 
profitable to thee and to me : whom I have sent again. Thou therefore 
receive him ; not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved." 
For Onesimus was now a believer in Jesus, as well as Philemon ; and in 
Christ there is "neither bond nor free;" for all are one in him; therefore 
Philemon was not only to pardon his servant, but to love him too. 

Paul remembered that Onesimus had injured Philemon; he had 
stolen some of his property ; and perhaps Onesimus was not now able to 
repay him ; though, no doubt, he would try to do so, if he could ; so Paul 
said, " If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee anything, put that on my 
account ; I will repay it." How kind and generous Paul was ! And we 
may believe that Philemon was kind and generous too, and that he re- 
ceived Onesimus, and forgave and forgot all his past wickedness, and did 



414 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

not wish to be repaid by Paul. For Philemon himself owed much to Paul, 
more than he could ever pay; — he had learnt from him to seek the sal- 
vation of his soul. 

What became of Paul at last ? We are now very near the end of 
his history. After two years, he was set free ; and then he visited those 
places where he had formed churches ; and warned, and advised, and com- 
forted the Christians in them. Paul also went to other and more distant 
countries. It is thought that he travelled even as far as England, and 
was the first who preached the gospel in Britain. At last he returned 
to Rome. He was now very old. When he wrote to Philemon, he called 
himself " Paul the aged ; " and he had long been looking forward to death, 
— to a violent and cruel death ; but he looked forward to it with peace and joy. 

He said to Timothy, " I am now ready to be offered, and the time 
of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished 
my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a 
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give 
me at that day." And now the time was come for Paul to be offered. He 
had labored, and preached, and suffered for Christ ; and at last he died for 
his sake. He was beheaded at Rome, by the command of Nero, the 
wicked and cruel emperor. We are not told anything about his last hours, 
and his dying words ; but we know that he must have died happily, be- 
cause he died trusting in Christ, and for his sake ; and now he has re- 
ceived " a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 

What happened to the other apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ ? 
All suffered, and most of them were put to death, for their Master's sake. 
Peter, after laboring and preaching much, particularly among the Jews, 
and writing two beautiful epistles, was crucified in his old age, as Christ 
had foretold. He remembered his Saviour's words, "Follow me;" and he 
did follow him faithfully, even unto death. 

James was slain by Herod, as we read before. The other James, 
called " the Less," Andrew, Thomas, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon, 
Jude, and Matthias, were put to death at different places, and in different 
ways. James the Less wrote an epistle ; so also did Jude. 

Thomas, it is supposed, went as far as Persia and India, and preached 
to the heathens in those countries ; and was, at last, put to death by the 
idolatrous Brahmins, or priests of India. Yet God blessed the labors of his 
faithful servant and martyr, even long after his death. Churches were 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 415 

formed among the wild mountains of India ; and Christians are still found 
there, who, it is thought, are descended from those first converted by the 
preaching of Thomas. 

The apostle who lived the longest was John, " the disciple whom 
Jesus loved." He was not put to death, as the others were ; but he was 
cruelly persecuted, and at last sent to the isle called Patmos, far away 
from his country and his friends. But John had the peace of God in his. 
heart, and therefore he could be contented and happy even in a desert island. 

One Lord's day, the first day of the week, the Christian Sabbath,. 
John was sitting alone, thinking on heavenly things. He could not go 
now to the house of God, and worship there with his people : but John 
could still keep the Sabbath in his own heart ; — " he was in the Spirit on 
the Lord's day." Suddenly he heard behind him a great voice, like the 
sound of a trumpet ; and turning round, he saw standing by him " one 
like unto the Son of man." It was the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who- 
had come to comfort his servant John ; but he did not now look as he 
had done when he was on earth, as "a man of sorrows," when John saw 
him suffering in the garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross of Calvary. 
He appeared now in glory. " His head and his hairs were white like 
wool, as white as snow ; and his eyes were as a flame of fire ; and his 
feet like unto fine brass ; and his voice as the sound of many waters ; and 
his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." 

The sight was too bright and glorious for John to bear, and he fell at 
his feet as dead, as he had done once before, when Jesus appeared in glory 
at his transfiguration. But Jesus laid his hand on John, and said, " Fear 
not ; I am the first and the last : I am he that liveth and was dead ; and 
behold I am alive for evermore. Amen." Then John was comforted ; for 
he felt that Jesus was still the same ; as merciful and full of love now, as 
when John had followed him, and listened to his words, so many years before. 
Jesus never changes. He is "the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." 

The book of Revelation is very difficult to explain, and can only in 
part be understood by those who are of riper years, and who well study 
and pray over it. The prophecies are written in dark terms, on purpose,, 
because otherwise all the world would know them ; and they are only 
designed to be a guide to those who wish to know the mind of God, and 
to mark his providence in his dealings with his Church. 

I cannot therefore attempt to do more than to tell you that most of 



41 G THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 

the language here used is the language of signs ; that is, certain things are 
made to mean other things. John, in his inspired visions, saw all that he 
states ; but then what he saw only represented realities in other forms. 

John wrote several Epistles. The first was called " general," because 
it was not sent to any particular church or person. The design of writing 
it was to promote brotherly love, to warn against doctrines that allowed 
men to live in sin, and give clear notions of the nature of God, and the 
divine glory of Jesus Christ. There is an anecdote of this apostle worthy 
of being remembered, both by young and old, whom the venerable John 
was used to address alike by the tender names of little children. It is 
said, in some early histories, that he spent his last days at Ephesus, where 
he died ; and that, when he was too old to walk, he was carried to the 
place of worship in the arms of some of the disciples. He could then only 
speak a few words very feebly ; and these words always were, " Little 
children, love one another." 

The Second Epistle of John is not called " general." It was written 
to a pious lady. The scope of it is to urge this pious lady to hold fast 
her Christian faith, to avoid error, and to love God and those who loved him. 

The Third Bpistle of John was to a particular person also. His 
name was Gaius or Caius, and, most likely, the same mentioned by the 
apostle Paul for his kindness in receiving, and lodging, and entertaining 
good people. See the sixteenth chapter of Romans, near the end. In this 
Epistle, John speaks of one " Diotrephes," who was a very haughty man, 
which was not a proper mark of a Christian, and of one " Demetrius," who 
had a good report of all men, as every Christian should have, as far as 
respects his life, temper, and behavior. The former he mentions, that Gaius 
may not imitate him ; and the latter he holds up as an excellent example. 
We should always imitate the example of the truly wise and good. 



